“We are in Champions League, man!” shouted Italian manager Claudio Ranieri in a press conference, reacting to leading Leicester City into perhaps the most glorious domestic competition for the first time in the club’s history. Certainly, a feat for the books and, more importantly, a feeling one can relate to. But that was club football. Now, flip the situation to the international stage for a moment. Just imagine—how would it feel for the least-expected nation to be just a few steps away from actually securing qualification for a prestigious tournament like the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Forget the usual scenes of players and managers taking the locker room over the roof. In this case, even fans storming the pitch won’t be a surprise. And it’s safe to say that’s exactly how Cape Verde’s supporters celebrated. Sounds unreal, but would you believe that an island country and archipelagic state in West Africa, with a population of just 593,149, might soon be playing in the World Cup? Well, you heard it right—because that’s exactly what this 1,557-square-mile nation is on track to achieve.

Earlier today, Cape Verde secured an emphatic 1-0 victory over Cameroon in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers match. A sole 54th-minute goal from Dailon Livramento was enough for the Bubista and Co. to secure a win over the 5X CAF African Cup of Nations champions. After the final whistle, though, players must have thought to celebrate this win in the locker room, fans had something else in mind as the majority of the Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde attendees invaded the pitch to celebrate their nation’s win.

Images spread across social media showed fans pouring out of the stands and running onto the pitch to celebrate. A few even managed to reach the players, hugging and congratulating them on the emphatic win before security eventually stepped in to escort the squad back to the locker room. Yet, even then, fans remained on the pitch—as if Cape Verde had already won the World Cup!

Well, a little bit, they do deserve to celebrate like this, considering this victory over a successful African team like Cameroon puts the island nation within touching distance of their first-ever World Cup appearance. Cape Verde now needs only one more win—or a set of favorable results from other fixtures—to secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Their next challenges come against Libya and Eswatini, matches that could confirm their spot on the soccer’s biggest stage. Not to mention the remarkable form that Cape Verde has been in since the kickstart of the World Cup qualifiers. Their journey might have begun with a goalless draw against Angola on November 17, 2023, but things quickly picked up pace. Just four days later, they secured their first three points with a 2-0 win over Eswatini.

In March 2024, Cape Verde carried that momentum with back-to-back victories—1-0 against Guyana and another 1-0 over Equatorial Guinea. Their only stumble came in June 2024, suffering a 4-1 defeat to Cameroon. However, they bounced back strongly with a crucial 1-0 win against Libya.

From there, they tightened their grip on the group. A 1-0 victory over Mauritius in March 2025 was followed by a thrilling 2-1 win over Angola. In September, they added another three points by beating Mauritius 2-0. , And now, they delivered the statement result of the campaign, fulfilling their revenge against Cameroon.

Now, with just two games remaining, it’s only a matter of time before we see Cape Verde etching their name into history—something that wouldn’t be the first time witnessed in World Cup qualifiers.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup already has an underdog!

If Cape Verde actually manages to pull off some positive results against Libya and Eswatini, they will be joining Iceland as the only nation with fewer than one million people to qualify for the World Cup. To recall, back in 2017, Iceland, with a then-population of 335,000, now around 404,610, managed to qualify for the 2018 edition of the tournament.

It was quite a poetic story as manager Heimir Hallgrimsson was a part-time dentist before becoming a head coach after the Euro 2016. No wonder he was left speechless at the final whistle. “This is really odd, I don’t know what to say. I mean … Pelé, Maradona, Aron Einar Gunnarsson,” Hallgrimsson said.

Notably, before Iceland’s breakthrough, the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup was Trinidad & Tobago in 2006 with a population of 1.3 million, followed by Northern Ireland (1.85 million), Slovenia (2.08 million), Jamaica (2.89 million), and Wales (3.1 million). Now, its Cape Verde, who might just be on the verge of etching history in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Fingers crossed!