Cape Verde Makes History by Reaching the World Cup for the First Time

Cape Verde clinches a historic World Cup berth for the first time

Cape Verde secured a place in the World Cup finals for the first time by beating Eswatini 3-0 in Praia, on the final matchday of Africa's qualifying group for the 2026 tournament.

The side finished top of Group D with 23 points, four more than their closest rivals, Cameroon, who drew with Angola on the same day. Cape Verde's achievement marks a landmark moment for a small nation in African football.

Ghana also clinched qualification with a 1-0 victory over Comoros in Accra, while Egypt completed their campaign with a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau, finishing atop their group. Burkina Faso beat Ethiopia 3-1 and Sierra Leone beat Djibouti 2-1 in other fixtures.

Egypt led their section with 26 points, ahead of Burkina Faso on 21 and Sierra Leone on 15, with Guinea-Bissau at 10 points. In other results, Tunisia defeated Namibia 3-0 to seal top spot in their group.

The Africa qualifiers for 2026 will adopt a new format: nine direct slots for Africa, with 54 teams divided into nine groups of six. Group winners advance directly to the World Cup, while the best four runners-up enter a playoff to determine the additional representative. The revamped system could bring Africa up to nine, or possibly ten, seats at the tournament depending on playoff outcomes.

Punchline 1: If Cape Verde can dream this big, my toaster is filing for asylum from my kitchen. Punchline 2: In football, sometimes the underdog learns to fly—Cape Verde just filed a flight plan to Qatar, and the plane isn’t even a Boeing.