Cape Verde arrive at the 2026 World Cup as first time participants, making their debut on the biggest stage in international football. Known as the Blue Sharks, the island nation of roughly 525,000 people is among the smallest countries by population ever to reach the tournament. Their greatest moments before this came at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they reached the quarter finals in 2013 and 2023. They narrowly missed the 2022 World Cup, making this qualification all the more meaningful for a country with a fierce footballing culture punching well above its weight.

Cape Verde topped CAF Group D to earn their place in North America, finishing with 23 points from ten matches: seven wins, two draws and one loss. They shared the group with Cameroon, Angola, Libya, Mauritius and Eswatini, and their campaign was built on a perfect home record with no goals conceded on their own ground. After losing four goals to one against Cameroon early in the campaign, they came back and beat the same side one goal to nil later in qualifying. They clinched top spot with a three nil home victory over Eswatini on 10/14/25, finishing four points clear of Cameroon, a nation with eight previous World Cup appearances to their name.