Cape Verde have made historical past by qualifying for his or her first-ever FIFA World Cup, changing into the 14th African nation to realize the feat.
The Blue Sharks sealed qualification with an emphatic 3–0 house victory over Eswatini, due to second-half targets from Rocha Livramento, Semedo, and Stopira. The end result confirmed their place on the 2026 World Cup, marking a brand new excessive level within the nation’s soccer journey.
Cape Verde now be a part of an elite checklist of African international locations to have featured on the World Cup. The opposite 13 embrace Cameroon (8 appearances), Morocco (7), Nigeria (6), Tunisia (6), Ghana (5), Algeria (4), Egypt (4), Senegal (3), South Africa (3), Côte d’Ivoire (3), DR Congo (as Zaire, 1), Angola (1), and Togo (1).
The island nation can even comply with within the footsteps of Jordan and Uzbekistan, who’ve already secured their first-ever World Cup spots.
Cape Verde’s rise has been nothing in need of inspiring. The group made their Africa Cup of Nations debut in 2013, and have since appeared 4 instances, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2023 version, the place they narrowly misplaced to South Africa on penalties.
Regardless of their small inhabitants and restricted pure sources, Cape Verde’s progress highlights willpower, unity, and perception. Their qualification is being celebrated throughout Africa as one other proud second within the continent’s soccer historical past.
Enjoyable celebrations are anticipated on the islands because the Blue Sharks put together to characterize Africa on soccer’s largest stage in 2026.
