Cabo Verde’s plan: Africa’s surprise package books spot at World Cup 2026 | OneFootball

With just 4,033 square kilometers and a little over half a million inhabitants, Cape Verde achieved an unprecedented feat: qualifying for a World Cup for the first time. The African country, which gained independence in 1975, became the second least populated nation to participate in the world’s biggest football event. Over the past two decades, the Federation has transformed its football structure, and with a 3-0 victory over Eswatini (ranked No. 159 in the FIFA Ranking), secured the top spot in Group D of the CAF Qualifiers, earning a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Cape Verde is an archipelago of ten islands and five islets located 460 kilometers from Senegal, with a population of 505,044 according to the latest census conducted in 2021. However, 1.5 million Cape Verdeans live abroad, mainly in Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and the United States. This community, three times larger than the resident population, maintains economic and cultural ties with the country. From this bond, the project that now supports the national team was born.

The secret to this growth lies in a policy sustained by the Cape Verdean Football Federation (FCF). Since the early 2000s, the organization undertook the strategic task of tracking down children of the Cape Verdean diaspora who were developing their careers in European clubs. Thanks to changes in FIFA regulations, many of them were able to represent the land of their parents. The result was a competitive leap that turned the “Blue Sharks” into a respected team within Africa.

In the latest call-up by coach Pedro Leitão Brito, known as Bubista, 14 out of 25 players were born outside the country. Among them are Bruno Varela, a goalkeeper who competed with Portugal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games; Steven Moreira, runner-up in the U-19 European Championship with France; and brothers Deroy and Laros Duarte, who trained in the Netherlands’ youth system. There are even curious cases like defender Roberto Lopes, born in Ireland and contacted via LinkedIn by a former coach.

The results of this effort were seen quickly: Cape Verde reached the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and 2023, and came very close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, only to be thwarted by an administrative sanction. In the current African Qualifiers, the team won Group D with 23 points after thrashing Eswatini 3-0, who finished last in the standings. The Cape Verdeans became the 22nd team to qualify for the big event and left a historic team like Cameroon in second place.

The 53 CAF teams affiliated with FIFA are divided into nine groups of six members each (one group has five), where they play in a round-robin format, with each team playing twice against their rivals, home and away. At the end of the regular phase, the best team from each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, while the four best runners-up will play in a semifinal and final playoff, with the winner earning a place in the intercontinental playoff to be held in Mexico in March 2026. In addition to Cape Verde, three other African teams have already qualified for the World Cup: Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt.

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