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After watching Germany put seven goals past Curacao, one of the expanded World Cup's four debut nations this summer, there was some fear for another first-time team as they prepared for an equally tough assignment.
At least, it was equally tough on paper. But Cape Verde started World Cup 2026 with the tournament's first goalless draw against 2010 winners and current European champions Spain, not only a surprising result but a point for the Blue Sharks in their first-ever World Cup fixture.
The 0-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will live long in the memory for everyone involved in Cape Verde football, but how did they secure their qualification for a maiden World Cup?
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How Cape Verde qualified
Cape Verde is an archipelago nation off the western coast of Africa. Its football team competes in the CAF region along with the rest of continental and off-shore Africa.
The Blue Sharks have attempted to qualify for every World Cup since 2002, finally getting over the line at the seventh attempt to claim a berth in Group H at World Cup 2026.
There were two qualification routes available to CAF teams. Nine teams qualified directly as group winners in the first round of CAF qualifying, which was made up of nine groups of six teams. The four best runners-up played off for a place in the inter-confederation play-offs, by which DR Congo would end up qualifying.
Cape Verde qualified as the winners of Group D, in which they finished four points clear of Cameroon thanks to seven wins out of 10.
Cameroon were the only team to beat Cape Verde, who defeated Eswatini and Mauritius twice each.
The impact of Dailon Livramento, who featured against Spain in Atlanta at the World Cup, was undeniable. He scored the only goals in two key wins, first a 2-1 victory away in Angola and then a 1-0 home win against the Indomitable Lions.
Manager Bubista is Cape Verdean through and through. A former Blue Sharks defender, the 56-year-old became the first man to take his country to the World Cup when they dismantled Eswatini in their last qualifier.
Cape Verde's full World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign
- November 16, 2023: Cape Verde 0-0 Angola
- November 23, 2023: Eswatini 0-2 Cape Verde
- June 8, 2024: Cameroon 4-1 Cape Verde
- June 11, 2024: Cape Verde 1-0 Libya
- March 20, 2025: Cape Verde 1-0 Mauritius
- March 25, 2025: Angola 1-2 Cape Verde
- September 4, 2025: Mauritius 0-2 Cape Verde
- September 9, 2025: Cape Verde 1-0 Cameroon
- October 8, 2025: Libya 3-3 Cape Verde
- October 13, 2025: Cape Verde 3-0 Eswatini
Like Cape Verde and Curacao, World Cup 2026 is the first-ever World Cup for Uzbekistan and Jordan.
If either of them get close to matching Cape Verde when they face Portugal and Argentina respectively, it would be every bit the World Cup classic Bubista's boys served up in Georgia.
Where does Cape Verde's 0-0 draw rank among the World Cup's great upsets? Let us know below...
