⚽️ History in the Making: In a jaw-dropping finish this Monday, Cape Verde clinched its first-ever FIFA World Cup spot with a thrilling 3-0 win over Eswatini, topping Group D in African qualifying.
Goal heroes came through: Dailon Livramento opened the floodgates in the 48th minute, Willy Semedo added the second just six minutes later, and veteran Stopira sealed the deal in stoppage time. The "Blue Sharks" roared as fans chanted and celebrations lit up the stadium—talk about setting off fireworks! 🎆
FIFA president Gianni Infantino summed it up: "What a historic moment. Congratulations to everyone in Cape Verde for making the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Your flag will fly and your anthem will be heard at the greatest FIFA World Cup ever."
With about 525,000 people, Cape Verde becomes the second-smallest nation by population to qualify, just after Iceland in 2018. It's like a scrappy startup beating industry giants—proof that big dreams can come from even the tiniest teams. 💡✨
Here's the lowdown on how it works: Each of the nine group winners in Africa gets an automatic ticket to the World Cup. The four best runners-up enter a mini "repechage" tournament in November for a shot at FIFA's playoff against teams from Asia, CONCACAF, South America, and Oceania.
Back home in Cape Verde, tickets sold out in record time, and the government declared a half-day holiday so everyone could tune in. If that isn't national pride, we don't know what is! 🌍🙌
Next stop: the global stage. See you in the World Cup, Blue Sharks! 🦈🏆
Reference(s):
Cape Verde qualify for World Cup for 1st time after beating Eswatini
cgtn.com
