Cape Verde made history on Monday by joining the list of nations headed to North America for the 2026 World Cup — the first in the country’s history. With less than nine months to go before the tournament kicks off, several teams have already secured their debut in the revamped and expanded edition of the competition.
On Monday, Cape Verde faced a unique opportunity to clinch a World Cup berth. Ahead of the final qualifier, the national team sat atop Group D in the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 20 points from nine matches, just ahead of Cameroon’s 18. Controlling their own destiny after a missed chance in a 3-3 draw against Libya, the Blue Sharks needed only to finish the job against Eswatini.
In front of a packed Cape Verde National Stadium, the hosts exploded after a goalless first half. Dailon Livramento (48’), Willy Semedo (54’), and Stopira (90+1’) all found the back of the net to seal a 3-0 victory, and with Cameroon drawing 0-0 against Angola, Cape Verde’s qualification was confirmed.
With this achievement, Cape Verde becomes the second least-populous nation ever to qualify for a World Cup. The island nation’s population of around 527,000 trails only Iceland’s 352,000, when the latter qualified for the 2018 edition in Russia.
FIFA welcomes Cape Verde to the 2026 World Cup.
Ranked 70th in the FIFA standings, Cape Verde will also be the smallest country by land area ever to appear at a World Cup — its 4,000 square kilometers (1,545 square miles) spread across ten islands are even smaller than Trinidad and Tobago’s 5,000 km² (1,930 sq. mi.) when they qualified for Germany 2006. Adding to the celebration, the government declared a half-day holiday so the entire nation could watch the game, underscoring just how meaningful this historic feat is.
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Cape Verde and the other debutant nations
Cape Verde became the 22nd nation to qualify for the expanded 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted across three countries. With 26 spots still open, the 48-team format has offered new opportunities for smaller nations to dream big — and Cape Verde is not the only debutant confirmed so far.
The first new nation to punch its ticket to the 2026 World Cup was Uzbekistan. In early June, with one match left in the third round of AFC qualifiers, Uzbekistan secured its place following a scoreless draw on June 5 against the United Arab Emirates, finishing second in the group behind Iran.
The second debutant to qualify was Jordan. On the final matchday of Group B, Jordan claimed a dominant 3-0 win over Oman, and with South Korea’s victory over Iraq, clinched second place in the group — and with it, a ticket to North America.
