Cape Verde will make its World Cup debut after cruising to a 3-0 victory over Eswatini on Monday, clinching first place in its African qualifying group for the 2026 tournament.
The volcanic island nation off Africa’s west coast secured one of the continent’s nine automatic spots, becoming the second smallest country by population to reach the World Cup, following Iceland’s 2018 appearance.
Dailon Livramento opened the scoring in the 48th minute, followed by Willy Semedo in the 54th, with Stopira sealing the win in stoppage time. At the final whistle, jubilant fans filled the stands with chants as players celebrated their historic triumph on the field.
“What a historic moment,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a video message. “Congratulations to everyone in Cape Verde for making the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Your flag will fly, and your anthem will be heard at the greatest FIFA World Cup ever.
“Your work on football development in recent years has been incredible, and this is a moment where your stars will become global and power a new generation of football lovers across Cape Verde.”
The Blue Sharks finished with four more points than Cameroon, which could not manage more than a 0-0 draw against Angola at home.
Cape Verde, a nation of about 525,000 people, arrived needing a victory and could have qualified even with a loss, as long as Cameroon did not defeat Angola.
The nine group winners automatically qualify for the World Cup. The four best runners-up will play in a mini tournament of two semifinals and a final in November. Cameroon can still advance as a runner-up.
The repechage winner advances to FIFA’s playoff tournament against opponents from Asia, CONCACAF, South America, and Oceania.
Tickets for the Cape Verde match sold in record time, according to FIFA, and the government declared a half-day holiday across the country so people could watch the game.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first with an expanded field of 48 teams, up from 32.
In the other Group D match, Mauritius and Libya drew 0-0.
In Group C, Lesotho defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 at home.
With its spot in the World Cup already secured, Tunisia closed its African qualifying run with a comfortable 3-0 home win over Namibia.
Ali Abdi converted a 28th-minute penalty kick, and Hannibal Mejbri and Ferjani Sassi added second-half goals to give Tunisia the best record in African qualifying.
Tunisia won Group H with 28 points from 10 matches, outscoring opponents 22-0. It dropped two points and finished 13 ahead of second-placed Namibia.
Also in Group H, Equatorial Guinea drew 1-1 with Liberia at home, while last-placed São Tomé and Príncipe beat Malawi 1-0 for its first win in the group — and first victory in World Cup preliminaries in 10 years.
In Group B, South Sudan drew 0-0 with visiting Togo.
On Sunday, 2010 quarterfinalist Ghana became the fifth African nation to qualify, joining Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco at next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
