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Minnows Cape Verde are ready for the World Cup

Minnows Cape Verde are ready for the World Cup

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Cape Verde are on the brink of making history. Following their September victory over one of Africa’s footballing behemoths, Cameroon, the tiny archipelago nation are now one win away from qualifying for their first World Cup.

By Alex Roberts

The brilliantly nicknamed Blue Sharks have been punching above their weight in the African Cup of Nations for some time now, reaching the quarterfinals in the 2013 and 2023, but compared to Cameroon, they’re nothing but a lemon shark.

The breakthrough came in the 54th minute, when Dailon Rocha Livramento shrugged £100 million+ rated Carlos Baleba off the ball deep in his own half and drove forward. Bursting straight through the spine of the Cameroon defence, he carried the attack into the box before coolly slotting past André Onana from just inside the area.

Cameroon struggled to mount any meaningful response, with Man United forward Bryan Mbeumo seeing a penalty appeal waved away and home goalkeeper Vozinha denying Flavien Boyomo’s stoppage-time volley.

At the final whistle, the stadium erupted as jubilant fans poured onto the pitch, waving flags and setting off flares in wild celebration of a historic triumph.

Sitting at the top of Group D in CAF World Cup qualifying, all they need to do is travel to Libya and win today’s game. If they succeed, they will become the second smallest nation in terms of population ever to reach football’s ultimate stage.

It almost happened in 2014, but after fielding an ineligible player, Fernando Varela, Cape Verde were disqualified from the World Cup CAF qualifying play-offs. As a result, Tunisia were awarded a 3–0 victory (instead of Cape Verde’s 2–0 win), and they advanced to the play-offs.

Ironically, Cape Verde were handed the points from their March fixture, in which Varela was sent off, after FIFA ruled that Equatorial Guinea had fielded an ineligible player. Equatorial Guinea had originally claimed a 4-3 victory, but the result was overturned when it was confirmed that striker Emilio Nsue López did not meet the nationality requirements.

The ruling also had knock-on effects for Tunisia, who thought they had secured a play-off spot in June with a 1-1 draw in Malabo. Instead, those sanctions against Nsue’s inclusion altered the standings and denied them progression.

Still, when all was said and done Tunisia finished top of Group B with 14 points, with Cape Verde second on nine points, and they were denied their chance to play in the 2014 World Cup in beautiful Brazil.

This time around their qualifiers have been a little less fraught with controversy. It started all the way back in November 2023 with a drab 0-0 home draw against Angola. We’d love to go into more detail but the only thing that happened was there were some substitutions.

The next game against Eswatini was a little more entertaining. Cape Verde travelled to the Mbombela Stadium and ended up 2-0 winners thanks to goals from 35-year-old winger Ryan Mendes and 31-year-old attacking midfielder Jamiro Monteiro.

When the final whistle blew in their first game against Cameroon, any hope of reaching the tournament proper felt a long way off. The home side ended the game as 4-1 winners, and Cape Verde were sent home with much to ponder.

Bubista’s lads needed to rally, knowing that defeat to Libya in their next game would likely end their chances of catching that flight across the Atlantic Ocean to the promised land of the Americas.

Centre-back Diney Borges put his side ahead inside ten minutes, finishing off a brilliantly executed corner routine. Jovane Cabral played it short to Monteiro, who teed up Patrick Andrade to deliver a high, looping ball into the box.

Libya goalkeeper Murad Al Wuheeshi flapped at it but he couldn’t quite reach it. After a little bit of classic penalty box pinball, it dropped to Borges who slotted the ball into an open goal and secured a much-needed win.

It would be nearly a year before the players met up again to face Mauritius. With only one win at the time, this game should have been routine for Cape Verde, but it took an incredibly tense 85 minutes before Yannick Semedo broke the deadlock and earned another hard fought 1-0 win.

Five days later Cape Verde headed to Angola. By the time this game came around, the four goals Cameroon scored were the only goals Cape Verde had conceded, and when Livramento gave them a 1-0 lead just before the break after a devastating counterattack, it looked like it would be business as usual.

Whatever Angola boss Pedro Goncalves said at half-time appeared to work. His side exploded out of the gates, with Gelson Dala bagging the equalizer in the 50th minute from an indirect freekick.

Cameroon’s 0-0 draw with Eswatini during the same international break saw Cape Verde leapfrog them into the top spot. The Indomitable Lions went on to win the reverse fixture 3-1, in the first international break of the 2025-26 season, but it wasn’t enough to regain their position.

Now sitting four points ahead of Cameroon, Cape Verde need just three points from their final two games to make what seemed impossible happen. That’s a lot of pressure put on the shoulders of those who would write their names in history.

The small archipelago of ten islands boasts distinct cultures and traditions on each, but when the national team gathers, those differences quickly fade, and there are plenty of them.

At last year’s AFCON, their 25-man squad was drawn from 25 different clubs across 16 countries, including Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Russia, the USA, Spain, France, Italy, and Ireland.

Historically, Cape Verdean-born talents like Nani and Rolando have opted to represent Portugal in pursuit of international success. But this could mark the beginning of a new era, one of footballing independence, where future stars choose to stay and shine for Cape Verde.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every World Cup qualifier on FotMob in the build up to the 2026 finals – with in-depth stat coverage, xG, and player ratings, where available. Download the free app here.

Minnows Cape Verde are ready for the World Cup

Cape Verde are on the brink of making history. Following their September victory over one of Africa’s footballing behemoths, Cameroon, the tiny archipelago nation are now one win away from qualifying for their first World Cup.

By Alex Roberts

The brilliantly nicknamed Blue Sharks have been punching above their weight in the African Cup of Nations for some time now, reaching the quarterfinals in the 2013 and 2023, but compared to Cameroon, they’re nothing but a lemon shark.

The breakthrough came in the 54th minute, when Dailon Rocha Livramento shrugged £100 million+ rated Carlos Baleba off the ball deep in his own half and drove forward. Bursting straight through the spine of the Cameroon defence, he carried the attack into the box before coolly slotting past André Onana from just inside the area.

Cameroon struggled to mount any meaningful response, with Man United forward Bryan Mbeumo seeing a penalty appeal waved away and home goalkeeper Vozinha denying Flavien Boyomo’s stoppage-time volley.

At the final whistle, the stadium erupted as jubilant fans poured onto the pitch, waving flags and setting off flares in wild celebration of a historic triumph.

Sitting at the top of Group D in CAF World Cup qualifying, all they need to do is travel to Libya and win today’s game. If they succeed, they will become the second smallest nation in terms of population ever to reach football’s ultimate stage.

It almost happened in 2014, but after fielding an ineligible player, Fernando Varela, Cape Verde were disqualified from the World Cup CAF qualifying play-offs. As a result, Tunisia were awarded a 3–0 victory (instead of Cape Verde’s 2–0 win), and they advanced to the play-offs.

Ironically, Cape Verde were handed the points from their March fixture, in which Varela was sent off, after FIFA ruled that Equatorial Guinea had fielded an ineligible player. Equatorial Guinea had originally claimed a 4-3 victory, but the result was overturned when it was confirmed that striker Emilio Nsue López did not meet the nationality requirements.

The ruling also had knock-on effects for Tunisia, who thought they had secured a play-off spot in June with a 1-1 draw in Malabo. Instead, those sanctions against Nsue’s inclusion altered the standings and denied them progression.

Still, when all was said and done Tunisia finished top of Group B with 14 points, with Cape Verde second on nine points, and they were denied their chance to play in the 2014 World Cup in beautiful Brazil.

This time around their qualifiers have been a little less fraught with controversy. It started all the way back in November 2023 with a drab 0-0 home draw against Angola. We’d love to go into more detail but the only thing that happened was there were some substitutions.

The next game against Eswatini was a little more entertaining. Cape Verde travelled to the Mbombela Stadium and ended up 2-0 winners thanks to goals from 35-year-old winger Ryan Mendes and 31-year-old attacking midfielder Jamiro Monteiro.

When the final whistle blew in their first game against Cameroon, any hope of reaching the tournament proper felt a long way off. The home side ended the game as 4-1 winners, and Cape Verde were sent home with much to ponder.

Bubista’s lads needed to rally, knowing that defeat to Libya in their next game would likely end their chances of catching that flight across the Atlantic Ocean to the promised land of the Americas.

Centre-back Diney Borges put his side ahead inside ten minutes, finishing off a brilliantly executed corner routine. Jovane Cabral played it short to Monteiro, who teed up Patrick Andrade to deliver a high, looping ball into the box.

Libya goalkeeper Murad Al Wuheeshi flapped at it but he couldn’t quite reach it. After a little bit of classic penalty box pinball, it dropped to Borges who slotted the ball into an open goal and secured a much-needed win.

It would be nearly a year before the players met up again to face Mauritius. With only one win at the time, this game should have been routine for Cape Verde, but it took an incredibly tense 85 minutes before Yannick Semedo broke the deadlock and earned another hard fought 1-0 win.

Five days later Cape Verde headed to Angola. By the time this game came around, the four goals Cameroon scored were the only goals Cape Verde had conceded, and when Livramento gave them a 1-0 lead just before the break after a devastating counterattack, it looked like it would be business as usual.

Whatever Angola boss Pedro Goncalves said at half-time appeared to work. His side exploded out of the gates, with Gelson Dala bagging the equalizer in the 50th minute from an indirect freekick.

Cameroon’s 0-0 draw with Eswatini during the same international break saw Cape Verde leapfrog them into the top spot. The Indomitable Lions went on to win the reverse fixture 3-1, in the first international break of the 2025-26 season, but it wasn’t enough to regain their position.

Now sitting four points ahead of Cameroon, Cape Verde need just three points from their final two games to make what seemed impossible happen. That’s a lot of pressure put on the shoulders of those who would write their names in history.

The small archipelago of ten islands boasts distinct cultures and traditions on each, but when the national team gathers, those differences quickly fade, and there are plenty of them.

At last year’s AFCON, their 25-man squad was drawn from 25 different clubs across 16 countries, including Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Russia, the USA, Spain, France, Italy, and Ireland.

Historically, Cape Verdean-born talents like Nani and Rolando have opted to represent Portugal in pursuit of international success. But this could mark the beginning of a new era, one of footballing independence, where future stars choose to stay and shine for Cape Verde.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every World Cup qualifier on FotMob in the build up to the 2026 finals – with in-depth stat coverage, xG, and player ratings, where available. Download the free app here.