qualified<\/a> directly after an excellent performance in the first round of CAF qualifying.<\/p>\nThey topped a difficult group, alongside Cameroon and Angola, winning eight of their 10 games to punch their first historic ticket to a World Cup.<\/p>\n
A 100% record in five home games, and not conceding a goal was pivotal to their progress.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Has Cape Verde played in a major tournament?<\/p>\n
Yes. Cape Verde have played at four Africa Cup of Nations, the continent\u2019s showpiece footballing event. Their best result was reaching the quarter-finals in their inaugural campaign in 2013 and at their last appearance in 2023.<\/p>\n
They also came close to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but were ultimately eliminated in the last match of the group phase.<\/p>\n
What is Cape Verde\u2019s FIFA ranking?<\/p>\n
Cape Verde is ranked 69th, the second-lowest-ranked team among the 10 African representatives at the World Cup this year.<\/p>\n
Who will Cape Verde face at the 2026 World Cup?<\/p>\n
Cape Verde are in Group H with Spain, the 2010 champions and frontrunners for the 2026 title, former champions Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, who handed Argentina a shock defeat in the 2022 World Cup. All their group matches will be played in the US.<\/p>\n
June 15: Spain vs Cape Verde \u2013 Atlanta Stadium
\nJune 21: Uruguay vs Cape Verde \u2013 Miami Stadium
\nJune 26: Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia \u2013 Houston Stadium
\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25339688863167-1774510356.jpg\")
Former NHL player Wayne Gretzky picks Cape Verde in the draw for the FIFA World Cup [File: Dan Mullan\/Pool Photo via AP]Who is Cape Verde\u2019s head coach?<\/p>\n
Bubista \u2013 whose full name is Pedro Leitao Brito \u2013 is a former Cape Verde international, who has been in charge of the national team for six-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n
He played 21 times for his country in the early 2000s and enjoyed the limelight as captain before transitioning into coaching two years after his retirement. Twice serving as assistant manager, Bubista was named the Cape Verde head coach in early 2020.<\/p>\n
Under his guidance, Cape Verde played at back-to-back AFCONs, reaching the knockouts both times, before pulling off the unthinkable by qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The achievement also earned him the accolade of the CAF Coach of the Year 2025.<\/p>\n
Bubista \u2013 whose nickname is derived from the Creole name of his birthplace, Boa Vista \u2013 has instilled an identity in the team that makes them hard to beat.<\/p>\n
![\"Cape](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP24022757967512-1774511256.jpg\")
Bubista played for Cape Verde in the 1990s and early 2000s before taking over as coach in 2020 (AP Photo\/Themba Hadebe) (AP)Who are Cape Verde\u2019s key players?<\/p>\n
Forward Dailon Livramento was Cape Verde\u2019s highest scorer during qualification with four goals, while defender Diney, midfielder Jamiro Monteiro, and winger Willy Semedo bagged two apiece.<\/p>\n
Captain Ryan Mendes, goalkeeper Vozinha and defender Roberto Lopes \u2013 also part of the team that fought for 2022 World Cup qualification \u2013 are the other key players.<\/p>\n
Cape Verde has spread the national team net wide with starters based in several countries, including Portugal, the Netherlands, and the US.<\/p>\n
How is Cape Verde preparing for the World Cup?<\/p>\n
Cape Verde faced Chile and Finland in friendlies in New Zealand in March, as part of the FIFA Series, the sponsored biennial tournaments for mainly lower-ranked and lesser-financed nations.<\/p>\n
They lost 4-2 to Chile but won 4-2 on penalties against Finland after being tied at 1-1.<\/p>\n
What can we expect from Cape Verde?<\/p>\n
While Cape Verde may be considered minnows at the World Cup, writing them off would be a mistake. The \u2018Blue Sharks\u2019 have built a reputation as potential giant-killers, and their impressive run through the African qualifiers only adds to their intrigue.<\/p>\n
The spirit can be best described in coach Bubista\u2019s words: \u201cWe\u2019re a small country, but it\u2019s only small on the map\u2026 a small country with a big heart\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Fans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25286765151356-1774510527.jpg\")
Fans celebrate after Cape Verde defeated Eswatini in qualifying to clinch their World Cup place [File: Cristiano Barbosa\/AP]<\/p>\n
You can follow the action on Al Jazeera\u2019s dedicated\u00a0FIFA World Cup 2026<\/a>\u00a0page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary, and keep up to date with group standings\u00a0and real-time\u00a0match results and schedules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Known for its crystal-clear waters and white sandy beaches, Cape Verde is set to steal the spotlight for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1911,80625,4118,85,46,43,2224,105,1032,1156,101640],"class_list":["post-457637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-africa","tag-cape-verde","tag-football","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Fans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25286763361202-1774510436.jpg\")
Cape Verde\u2019s 600,000 inhabitants were given the day off to support their team on the final day of the CAF qualifiers for the World Cup [File: Cristiano Barbosa\/AP]How did Cape Verde qualify for the 2026 World Cup?<\/p>\n