The Cape Verde Islands became the second-smallest country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after beating Eswatini 3-0 in Group D on Monday evening at Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde in Praia, making historic qualification.
The win ensured the island, with a population of slightly over 500,000, finished on top of the group with 23 points, 4 ahead of 2nd-placed Cameroon, who were held to a barren draw at home to Angola in another fixture.
The Blue Sharks won 7, drew 2, and lost only 1 match in their group stage qualification.
Electrified fans thronged the streets of Praia, celebrating with dances and songs and carrying the nation’s flag.
It became the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup, after Iceland, with just over 350,000 people, at the 2018 Russia.
Cape Verde, an archipelago of ten islands in the Atlantic Ocean, originally tried to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan after gaining independence from Portugal in 1975.
They reached the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals on their debut in 2013 and again in 2023, and are currently ranked 70th in the world.
Cape Verde joins Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Ghana for next year’s football bonanza in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, with the final three automatic slots set to be decided on Tuesday night.
