By Mark Gleeson
June 2 (Reuters) - Cape Verde are the only African newcomers in this year's World Cup and with a population of around 600,000 are the third smallest nation to qualify in the tournament’s long history.
But with a squad drawn from the island nation’s large diaspora, they have been competitive for more than a decade and their progress to the finals is less of a fairytale than portrayed.
They will kick off against European champions Spain on June 15 followed by Uruguay (June 21) and Saudi
Arabia (June 26).
Cape Verde’s team are drawn from the communities dotted around Europe, a legacy of centuries of migration from the arid, windswept islands on the west coast of Africa and, dipping into this talent pool, have seen their side rapidly advance from being minnows on the African continent to earning a World Cup berth.
Two decades ago they had barely played any international football, averaging two games a year from 1986 when they joined world governing body FIFA, to 1990 when they competed in World Cup qualifiers for the first time, ranked 182nd in the world.
But they progressed rapidly after that, boosted by the quality of players born, or who grew up, in former colonial power Portugal and others from France and the Netherlands.
A disproportionate number of players from the Delfshaven neighbourhood in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam have made a strong contribution to the cause.
In their debut Africa Cup of Nations finals appearance in 2013, Cape Verde reached the quarter-finals, prompting their coach to burst into song at the post-match press conference.
They did so again at the 2023 edition in the Ivory Coast, unlucky to be eliminated on penalties.
They also came close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but were deducted points for erroneously fielding a suspended player, thereby missing out on the playoffs where they would have been two games away from reaching the finals.
Finishing in the qualifying group for the 2026 finals ahead of Cameroon, whose eight previous World Cup appearances are an African record, is further testament to Cape Verde’s place among the continent’s top teams.
“We've always been aware of our talent but we haven't always believed that it could take us much further than we had achieved up to that point,” said manager Bubista, named African Coach of the Year in 2025, of the start of the qualifying campaign.
“Therefore, it took courage to face any opponent. The first step in our success was truly believing in our potential. In other words, we changed the players' mindset.”
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
