What to know about Cape Verde at World Cup 2026

Cape Verde, also known as Cabo Verde, is making its World Cup debut in North America after qualifying directly through CAF qualifying. The team topped a difficult group that included Cameroon and Angola, winning eight of 10 games to earn its first historic World Cup ticket. A strong home record and defensive performance were pivotal, including a 100% record in five home games and not conceding a goal. Cape Verde entered the final day of qualifiers two points ahead of Cameroon, then finished Group D on 23 points, four clear of Cameroon, which was eliminated in the second round. The country has about 600,000 inhabitants and a land area of about 4,000 square kilometres, making it among the smallest World Cup qualifiers.

"Cape Verde or Cabo Verde as they are known in Portuguese qualified directly after an excellent performance in the first round of CAF qualifying. They topped a difficult group, alongside Cameroon and Angola, winning eight of their 10 games to punch their first historic ticket to a World Cup. A 100% record in five home games, and not conceding a goal was pivotal to their progress."

"On the final day of qualifiers, Cape Verde started two points ahead of Cameroon, whose eight previous World Cup final appearances are the most by any African country. But at the full-time whistle, Cape Verde finished Group D on 23 points, four ahead of Cameroon, who ultimately crashed out in the second round."

"With around 600,000 inhabitants and only 4,000 square kilometres of land, Cape Verde is the third-smallest country to qualify for the World Cup after Curacao, which is also making its debut this year, and Iceland, which competed in 2018."

"Cape Verde's fairy-tale qualification coincided with the its 50th anniversary of independence from Portugal, and the Blue Sharks' have the chance to give their fans even more to celebrate as they go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world."

Read at www.aljazeera.com