Cape Verde on the verge of achieving crazy World Cup first

22 Jun 2026 14:39 BST | 4 min read

Vozinha, Pico Lopes, Cape Verde, World Cup — © IMAGO

Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

Accredited sports journalist covering football since 2020

Cape Verde will become the first nation in history to qualify for the World Cup knockout stages with a population of under 1 million people if they beat Saudi Arabia in their third group game.

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Bubista’s side became the third-smallest country of all time to qualify for the World Cup finals when they booked their place in North America, behind Iceland in 2018 and fellow newcomers Curacao in 2026, and they have been one of the success stories of the tournament so far.

They secured a famous 0-0 draw against favourites Spain in their first ever World Cup match, thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Vozinha, while they backed that up with a 2-2 draw versus Uruguay on Sunday.

Kevin Pina scored Cape Verde’s first World Cup goal with a stunning long-range free-kick in the 21st minute, before Helio Varela grabbed a second-half equaliser after Maximiliano Araujo and Agustin Canobbio had put Uruguay ahead.

Cape Verde are now third in Group H, although they are level on points with Uruguay in second, who face Spain in their final group stage fixture.

Cape Verde will guarantee qualification to the round of 32 if they beat Saudi Arabia on Saturday, due to the fact they will overtake at least one of Spain or Uruguay depending on the result of that match, while they could even qualify with a draw.

If Uruguay lose to Spain, which is highly likely, and Cape Verde secure a third consecutive draw against Saudi Arabia, they will finish second in Group H on three points.

So, with Uruguay expected to lose to Spain, Cape Verde head into their final group stage match in the knowledge that a point could well be enough to become the first nation in history to qualify for the World Cup knockout stages with a population of under 1 million.

CAPE VERDE LEAD AT THE WORLD CUP! 😮🇨🇻

Kevin Pina's free kick from distance puts the debutants ahead against two-time World Cup winners Uruguay! #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/je1rAcdrvO
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 21, 2026

Cape Verde could make World Cup history

Cape Verde has a population of just under 525,000, yet they could be set to defy the odds and qualify for the World Cup knockouts.

While many of the smaller nations at this year’s tournament likely wouldn’t have qualified under the previous format of 32 teams, that isn’t true of Cape Verde, who topped their qualifying group ahead of World Cup regulars Cameroon.

Meanwhile, only Nigeria (74th in 1998) and Russia (70th in 2018) have qualified for the knockout stages of a World Cup with a lower FIFA ranking than Cape Verde (63rd).

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