📸 World Cup 2026: Africa’s refereeing controversy of the decade? 😱 | OneFootball

Oh, the madness.

This Wednesday afternoon could have been historic. With a victory on the pitch against Libya, Cape Verde would have officially secured its ticket to the 2026 World Cup, the very first in its history!

While the score was 3-3, the Cape Verdeans launched a counter-attack in the 95th minute, just seconds before the final whistle. A perfectly managed 3vs1, which indeed went all the way!

Problem is, the linesman signaled an offside... particularly debatable.

The ball was passed to Jamiro Monteiro, the Cape Verdean number 10, the second highest blue player in this picture.

The goal was then disallowed.

Final score: 3-3. Cape Verde must still wait and thus sees Cameroon, who won 2-0 on the pitch of Mauritius, come back to just two points...

Even more terrible, in some bars in the country, the goal, synonymous with World Cup qualification, was celebrated... before the big letdown.

On X, the fans of the Tubarões Azul are literally furious.

Cape Verde remains the leader of its group, ahead of Cameroon, with one match left in these African qualifiers.

If they win on Monday against Eswatini, the qualification will be official.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 PIUS UTOMI EKPEI