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• Updated Jun 15, 2026 at 11:21am

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A Cape Verde player warms up before a match.

Cape Verde forged an unlikely path to this year’s World Cup, earning the nation’s first-ever bid in the tournament despite being one of the smallest and most remote nations.

Cape Verde kicks off its World Cup journey on Monday against Spain, looking to pull off what would be a monumental upset. But just reaching the World Cup has been a “fairytale” journey for the island nation.

Cape Verde is Among the Smallest World Cup Nations Ever

Cape Verde is among the smallest nations in Africa, an archipelagic country off the continent’s Atlantic Ocean coast made up of 10 volcanic islands.

As Olympics.com noted, Cape Verde was one of three teams to make their World Cup debut this year, with their qualifying match bringing the nation of a little more than 500,000 to a halt.

“One of four debutants alongside Jordan, Curaçao and Uzbekistan, the West African nation sealed its place on the final day of African qualifying with a 3-0 win over Eswatini in Praia,” the report noted. “The country was effectively half-closed for business, with many given time off to watch a match staged at a national stadium that holds just 8,000 spectators.”

“By global standards it was a modest crowd, but it represented a nation of just over half a million people,” the report added. “Cabo Verde are the third smallest country by population ever to qualify for a World Cup, behind fellow debutants Curaçao, and Iceland, who reached the finals in 2018.”