Cape Verde has become one of the standouts of the FIFA World Cup 2026: the third smallest country in World Cup history, after Curaçao (who also managed their first World Cup point over the weekend) and Iceland in 2018, this African archipelago, with around 500,000 inhabitants, remains unbeaten after two matches and have serious possibilities of qualifying for the round of 32.
The 2-2 draw against Uruguay leaves them third in Group H, with 2 points, same as Uruguay, and one point away from Saudi Arabia. Cape Verde has already survived the two toughest teams of the group (including the shocking 0-0 draw to Spain in their debut match, with an heroic performance by goalkeeper Vozinha, who became an Instagram star overnight), and face Saudi Arabia on Saturday, June 27 at 2:00 CEST, 1:00 BST.
If Cape Verde wins against Saudi Arabia and Spain beats Uruguay in the match played at the same time, Cape Verde would qualify as group runner-up and play against the leader of Group J, which will likely be Argentina.
However, because the best eight third-placed teams also qualify for round of 32, and Cape Verde has two draws (therefore a Goal Difference of 0), there are still big chances that they would qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, even if they were to draw against Saudi Arabia and would remain in the third place...
