00:07One of the most incredible stories during qualification for the 2026 World Cup arrived
00:14with the success of the tiny island nation of Cape Verde.
00:20At the time of their qualification, Cape Verde was the smallest country by land area
00:26and the second-least populated country to qualify for the World Cup.
00:31However, the subsequent qualification of Curacao nudged them down both standings.
00:38The main thing to me is that since I was a little boy, and I know it's the same for
00:41the guys in Dresden,
00:42since we were all little kids playing football, we dreamed of playing football at the highest stage.
00:46And there's no bigger stage in the World Cup.
00:48So to do this, to be the first Cape Verde team here, to lift all the people in the nation,
00:52to put them on that stage, there's no better feeling than that.
00:56Cape Verde is a collection of islands in the Atlantic Ocean,
00:59just over an hour's flight west of the Senegal capital, Dakar.
01:04It was a Portuguese colony from the 15th century until gaining independence in 1975.
01:12The Cape Verdean Football Federation only joined FIFA in 1982
01:17and didn't enter World Cup qualification until 2002.
01:22But progress has been dramatic.
01:24They qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2013.
01:29And are now not only regulars at the biennial event, but two-time quarter-finalists.
01:37Reaching the game's greatest stage is a whole different level of excitement.
01:57The Blue Sharks made it to North America by edging out regional powerhouses Cameroon.
02:04Success was built on a strong defence, one that kept seven clean sheets in ten matches.
02:12Their progress was not confirmed until a final round victory at home to Eswatini,
02:18sparking jubilant celebrations.
02:24There are no household names in the Cape Verde squad.
02:27The majority are drawn from the diaspora, with the Portuguese lower leagues a consistent source of talent.
02:35Record cap winner and goal scorer Ryan Mendes is now based in Turkey.
02:39Dylon Livramento, the leading scorer in qualification, is in Italy.
02:48But stick a pin on a map of Europe, and there's a chance you will not be far away from
02:53a Cape Verde international.
02:55From Ireland's Shamrock Rovers, to Finland's SJK, to Azerbaijan's Turan Tovos.
03:05The success of Cape Verde is being celebrated worldwide as a demonstration of the rise of African football.
03:12The 2026 World Cup will feature the largest contingent of teams from the continent in the competition's history.
03:19And they will all travel with the confidence gained from Morocco's record-breaking run to the semi-finals four years
03:26ago.
03:26An unprecedented World Cup with nine or ten African countries participating.
03:34All extremely competitive, extremely strong.
03:37Cape Verde for the first time qualifying as well.
03:40Great surprise.
03:42I think, well, African teams will be quite successful or very successful at the World Cup.
03:49It shows the depth of talent inside the countries.
03:52When you think that Cape Verde is 500,000 people and they played outstanding football.
04:00It shows as well that the African countries are conscious, slowly, of the need of the quality of education.
04:10Cape Verde will be ranked among the greatest outsiders in World Cup history when they take the field on tournament
04:16debut.
04:16But their success is not measured by how close they come to lifting the precious gold trophy,
04:22but simply by contributing to the occasion.
04:25Thank you, yeah,こんにちは!
04:26We'll see you in the next week and hopefully will be fantastic.
04:27Merry Christmas, all!
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