The most popular topic in the world of football today is Cape Verde qualifying for the World Cup. An archipelago spread over an area of 4033 square kilometers, they also made history as the smallest country in terms of land area to qualify for the World Cup.
How did Cape Verde, a small country, qualify for the World Cup? How did they manage to book a place in the African region, where there are many highly competitive teams?
At the beginning of the 21st century, that is, by April 2000, Cape Verde was at the bottom of the football game. They had fallen to 182nd place in the international football rankings. Cape Verde had no further step left to fall in football.
Cape Verde had talented players. But without experience and maturity, they could not become revolutionaries on the football field. The Portuguese football coach João de Deus began to change their football.
During this time, João began to look for players born in other countries with Cape Verdean origins through a scouting system. He found several talented players. From then on, Cape Verdean football changed dramatically.
The results of this change that took place in 2008-10 were seen in 2013. Cape Verde qualified for the African Cup of Nations for the first time. Not only that, they also became the tournament’s champions, reaching the semi-finals of the 2013 tournament.
Although João de Deus left Cape Verde’s coaching job in 2010, the scouting system to find players for the team from other countries did not stop. Good players continued to come to Cape Verde. Not only that, even former players from the country became more competitive to play for Cape Verde.
Before joining the World Cup, they again became a topic of headlines in football in 2023. With their excellent performance in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations,
They started the tournament in Group A by defeating the powerful African country Ghana 2-0. Cape Verde, who also finished the match without a win or loss against Egypt, will enter the last 16 as the team that won the first place in the group.
Cape Verde qualified for the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Mauritania 1-0 in the last 16. Cape Verde’s story ended in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after an unfortunate penalty shootout loss to South Africa.
But the world of football was talking about their talent. Cape Verde’s next goal was to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They competed in Group D of the African qualifying round.
In addition to Cape Verde, Cameroon, Libya, Angola, Mauritius and Eswatini were included in Group D. Only one team can qualify directly for the World Cup from here. The team that wins first place at the end of a league round will qualify for the World Cup.
The second place can sometimes go to the play-offs. That will be determined by their performance. Cape Verde finished top of Group D with 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
They lost 4-1 away to Cameroon, but beat them 1-0 at home. Winning yesterday’s match against Eswatini was enough for Cape Verde to qualify for the World Cup.
The national stadium in Praia, the capital and largest stadium in Cape Verde, was packed to capacity. They defeated Eswatini 3-0. Cape Verde has written a new chapter in football history.
In less than a year, in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you can watch Cape Verde play in a football World Cup for the first time. Cape Verde is already in a state of flux. People are singing and dancing in the streets. Qualifying for the World Cup is a dream for them.
Many of the players who contributed to the team throughout the World Cup journey, such as Dylan Livremento, Helio Varela, Willy Semedo, Gary Rodriguez, Laros Duarte, Telmo Arcanjo, Deroy Duarte, and Jamiro Monteiro, were born in other countries with Cape Verdean Origin.
However, Ryan Mendes, who leads the team, has been playing for Cape Verde since 2010. The 35-year-old is a player who was born in Cape Verde. Ryan Mendes, who has been watching the team since its inception, is the number 1 hero of the Cape Verde Islands.
If it weren’t for the Origin players, Cape Verde would have always been a country hidden on the football map. Now they are playing a World Cup. They are ranked 70th in the world football rankings. They once went up to 27th.
Cape Verdean-born players and Origin players are mixed and play in the team. The team is open to anyone who is talented. This same process is now being implemented in Sri Lanka. It took Cape Verde about 15 or 16 years to start the work and make it successful.
We have only just started. That means you too can be patient, just as the people of Cape Verde have been patient.