PRIA, CAPE VERDE (AP) — Cape Verde beat Eswatini 3-0 on Monday in Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers to advance through the group stage and reach the World Cup for the first time.
An archipelago of volcanic islands off the west coast of Africa has secured one of nine automatic spots on the continent. Japan will be participating in the tournament as the second smallest country in population after Iceland in 2018.
Dairon Libramento scored in the 48th minute, Willy Semedo scored in the 54th minute and Stopila scored in stoppage time to seal a home victory and top Group D. When the final whistle sounded, fans cheered in the stands and players celebrated on the field.
“What a historic moment,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a video message. “Congratulations to Cape Verde on your first appearance at the FIFA World Cup. Your national flag will fly and your national anthem will echo in the greatest FIFA World Cup ever.
“Your commitment to the development of football in recent years has been outstanding and now is the moment for your star to shine globally and empower a new generation of football lovers across Cape Verde.”
The Blue Sharks finished with four points more than Cameroon, who only won 0-0 at home against Angola.
Cape Verde, with a population of about 525,000, arrived looking for a win and could have qualified even with a loss had Cameroon not defeated Angola.
The nine group winners will automatically qualify for the World Cup. The top four runners-up will play in a mini-tournament in November with two semi-finals and one final. Cameroon still has a chance to advance to the semi-finals.
The winners of the repechage will advance to the FIFA playoff tournament against opponents from Asia, CONCACAF, South America and Oceania.
Tickets for the Cape Verde match sold in record time, according to FIFA, and the government declared a half-day holiday nationwide to allow people to watch the match.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to expand the number of participating teams from 32 to 48.
In the other match in Group D, Mauritius and Libya drew 0-0.
In Group C, Lesotho defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 at home.
Tunisia ends losing streak with consecutive wins
Tunisia, who have already secured their spot in the World Cup, finished their African qualifying campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Namibia at home.
Ali Abdi converted a penalty in the 28th minute, and Hannibal Meibry and Ferjani Sassi added on in the second half to give Tunisia their best record in African qualifying.
Tunisia won Group H with 28 points from 10 games, defeating their opponents 22-0. They dropped two points and finished with a 13-point lead over second-place Namibia.
Also in Group H, Equatorial Guinea drew 1-1 at home with Liberia, while bottom-placed Sao Tome and Principe defeated Malawi 1-0, their first win in the group and their first win in a World Cup qualifier in 10 years.
In Group B, South Sudan drew 0-0 away with Togo.
On Sunday, 2010 quarter-finalists Ghana became the fifth African nation to qualify for next year’s tournament, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, along with Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.
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