On Monday (October 13), the Cape Verdean government granted all workers a half-day off, meaning they could pack the Cape Verde National Stadium in the afternoon, huddle around their TVs, and watch history being made.
Coach Pedro Leitao Brito's team did not disappoint the people of Cape Verde. Dailon Rocha Livramento opened the scoring in the 48th minute. 6 minutes later, striker Willy Semedo doubled the lead. Finally, substitute Stopira scored the third goal, sealing a 3-0 victory over Eswatini, thereby officially qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, also the first time the 70th-ranked team in the world has come to the biggest football festival on the planet.
Previously, even the African Cup of Nations (CAN Cup) was a rare tournament for Cape Verde (only 4 times). Known as the "Blue Sharks", they are currently ranked 70th in the FIFA rankings and are considered unlikely to qualify because they are in the same group as Cameroon. However, coach Brito's students have performed beyond expectations. They won 7 matches and earned 23 points, thereby finishing first in Group D, pushing Cameroon into the risky play-off round.
With an area of only 4,000 square kilometers and a population of about 525,000 people, Cape Verde became the second smallest country in history to reach the World Cup after Iceland in 2018. This area is also only larger than 3 provinces of Vietnam after the merger, after Hung Yen, Hai Phong and Ninh Binh.
Cape Verde's most famous player is undoubtedly the worst signing in United's history, Bebe. The 35-year-old plays for UD Ibiza in the Spanish third division, but has not been called up to the national team since November 2024. Logan Costa is currently the only Cape Verde player to play in Europe's top five leagues, while he is with Villarreal.
Cape Verde will join Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Ghana as the African nations that have already qualified for the World Cup (the other three will have to play in a play-off). They are also one of three teams making their World Cup debut, alongside Uzbekistan and Jordan.
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Source: https://tienphong.vn/quoc-dao-co-dien-tich-chi-lon-hon-3-tinh-cua-viet-nam-lan-dau-gianh-ve-toi-world-cup-post1786910.tpo
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