Cape Verde Qualifies for First World Cup After Beating Eswatini
Cape Verde will compete in the World Cup for the first time after defeating Eswatini 3-0 to win its group in African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The archipelago of volcanic islands off the Western Coast of Africa gained one of the continent's nine automatic spots. It will be the second smallest country in terms of population to compete in the tournament behind Iceland in 2018.
Dailon Livramento scored in the 48th minute, Willy Semedo in the 54th, and Stopira in extra time to earn the home win and first place in Group D.

Cape Verde, a country of around 525 000 people entered in need of a win, but could have qualified even with a loss if Cameroon had not defeated Angola.
The nine group winners are immediately eligible for the World Cup. In November, the four best runners-up compete in a mini-tournament consisting of two semifinals and one final. Cameroon can still qualify as a runner-up.

The winner of the repechage proceeds to the FIFA playoffs, where they will face teams from Asia, CONCACAF, South America and Oceania.
According to FIFA, tickets for the Cape Verde match sold out quickly and the government issued a half-day holiday across the country to allow people to attend the game.