The Miracle of a 520,000-Population African Island Nation: Cabo Verde Qualifies for World Cup Finals for the First Time

3-0 Victory Over Eswatini Secures Top Spot in Group
First-Ever World Cup Finals Berth in Nation's History

The small island nation of Cabo Verde, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, will make its first-ever appearance in the FIFA World Cup finals.

Players of Cabo Verde celebrating after defeating Eswatini in the World Cup qualifiers. Photo by AP Yonhap News

On the morning of October 14, 2025 (Korean time), the Cabo Verde national team defeated Eswatini 3-0 in the final Group D match of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup African qualifiers at the Est?dio Nacional de Cabo Verde in Praia. Dailon Livramento opened the scoring in the third minute of the second half, followed by additional goals from Willy Semedo and Stopira, securing a decisive victory.

With this win, Cabo Verde finished with 7 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss (23 points), clinching first place in the group ahead of Cameroon (19 points), who drew with Angola on the same day. As a result, Cabo Verde earned a ticket to the North and Central America World Cup finals, achieving the historic feat of qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time in the nation's history.

This North and Central America World Cup will expand the number of participating teams in the finals from 32 to 38. The African qualifiers are divided into nine groups, with the top team from each group advancing directly to the finals. The top four second-place teams will compete in playoffs for a spot in the intercontinental playoffs.

Cabo Verde is the sixth African nation to secure a spot in the finals, following Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Ghana.

Fans in the stands cheering for Cape Verde's qualification for the World Cup finals. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Cabo Verde, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, is a country of about 520,000 people spread across 15 islands. With a land area of 4,033 square kilometers, it is roughly one twenty-fifth the size of South Korea. With this qualification, Cabo Verde becomes the second least populous country ever to participate in the World Cup finals, after Iceland (population 330,000 at the time) in the 2018 Russia tournament.

Meanwhile, since joining FIFA in 1986, Cabo Verde has consistently competed in the qualifiers and demonstrated its potential by reaching the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and 2023. The country's FIFA ranking once dropped as low as 182nd (in 2000) but surged to 27th in 2014. Currently, Cabo Verde is ranked 70th, higher than China (94th).