When the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, it will set in motion a flurry of historic firsts.
A newly expanded 48-team tournament, three countries: the US, Canada and Mexico as hosts and we’ll also get to see four debutants in the shape of Curaçao, Jordan, Uzbekistan and Cape Verde.
It was in October of last year that Cape Verde, the African archipelago nation — with a population of just over half a million people — qualified for its first ever World Cup after beating Eswatini 3-0 to become the third-smallest country after Curaçao and Iceland eight years ago to make it through to football’s biggest stage.
It was a feat made even more impressive by the fact the Blue Sharks ended up four points ahead of traditional continental powerhouse Cameroon, topping their Confederation of African Football qualifying group in the process.
It’s no wonder the team’s head coach Pedro Leitão Brito — better known as Bubista — was beaming with pride when he dropped by the CNN studios in Atlanta recently as part of a visit to Mercedes-Benz stadium, where Cape Verde will begin their World Cup campaign on June 15 against the 2010 winners and reigning European champions, Spain.
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