After Cape Verde, which teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup?

On October 14, Cape Verde became the 22nd team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, one of three teams participating in the world football festival for the first time and the second team with the smallest population after Iceland to enter the final round.

World Cup 2026 witnesses many surprises

Cape Verde, along with Uzbekistan and Jordan in Asia, has officially become the 3 teams participating in the world football festival for the first time, creating the biggest surprise in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Cape Verde is the smallest country by population to represent Africa at the 2026 World Cup.

Photo: Reuters

In particular, Cape Verde in the African region, shocked when overcoming the strongest opponent in the group, Cameroon, to win a precious ticket to the US, Mexico and Canada next summer. In the final round at home, Cape Verde easily defeated opponent Eswatini with a score of 3-0 to officially get a ticket to the final round.

A festive atmosphere erupted on the streets of Cape Verde's capital Praia on October 14 after the tiny island nation qualified for the World Cup for the first time. It was "a fantastic moment," Jorge Junior Livramento, a 37-year-old fan, told AFP. "I don't know what to say. I was at the stadium and supported the team unconditionally," he added.

Cape Verde, located off the coast of Senegal, is the smallest African country to represent the 2026 World Cup, with just 550,000 people. Cape Verde also became the second-smallest country to qualify for the World Cup, after Iceland, with just over 350,000 people, in Russia 2018.

List of 22 teams participating in the 2026 World Cup as of October 14

Photo: Screenshot Football Rankings/X

Cape Verde is the 6th team in Africa to officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup, after Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Ghana.

Next up could be Benin (in Group C) with 17 points competing with South Africa (15 points) before the final match, which will take place at 11pm on October 14. Benin will play Nigeria away, while South Africa will host Rwanda at home.

The remaining team that is likely to have a place is Gabon (22 points) in Group F, competing with Ivory Coast (23 points) until the last round in the early morning of October 15. Gabon will host Burundi, while Ivory Coast will meet Kenya. The 9th place in the African region may belong to Senegal in Group B, when they are 2 points ahead of the second team DR Congo before the last round.

Also in the early morning of October 15 (Vietnam time), the remaining two spots in the Asian region were also determined, with the final two matches of the fourth qualifying round of the two groups, including Qatar vs. UAE (Group A) and Saudi Arabia vs. Iraq (Group B).

In Europe, strong candidates such as France, Spain, Portugal, England, the Netherlands and Switzerland all maintained their top positions in their groups to secure their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

England could become the first European team to qualify for the finals if they beat Latvia at 1:45 a.m. on October 15. Portugal could do the same if they beat Hungary at the same time.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sau-cape-verde-nhung-doi-nao-se-gianh-ve-du-world-cup-2026-185251014091052117.htm