Cape Verde at the FIFA World Cup
International football delegation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cape Verde appeared in their first FIFA World Cup in 2026. In their debut match against Spain, they tied 0–0, earning their first point in World Cup history.[1]
On 13 October 2025, they qualified for the World Cup for the first time after a 3–0 victory over Eswatini.[2][3] At the time of their qualification, Cape Verde was noted as the smallest country by land area and the second-least-populated country to qualify for the World Cup, with a land area of 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi) and a population of just under 525,000.[4][5] However, after the qualification of Curaçao's team a month later, Cape Verde became the second-smallest country by land area and the third-least-populated.[6][7]
The team was drawn into Group H alongside Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia. In their first ever World Cup game, they caused a major upset by drawing 0–0 to Spain. That upset was furthered by a 2–2 draw against Uruguay[8] and a 0–0 draw against Saudi Arabia[9] to finish second in their group, thereby becoming the smallest-ever nation to reach the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup.[10][11][12]
In the round of 32, Cape Verde lost 3-2 to Argentina in overtime, eliminating Cape Verde from the competition.
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| 1930 to 1974 | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | |||||||||||||||
| 1978 and 1982 | Not a member of FIFA | Not a member of FIFA | |||||||||||||||
| 1986 to 1998 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||
  2002 |
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||
 2006 |
12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 16 | |||||||||||
 2010 |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||
 2014 |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 7 | |||||||||||
 2018 |
8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 13 | |||||||||||
 2022 |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | |||||||||||
   2026 |
Round of 32 | 32nd | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Squad | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | ||
   2030 |
To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | Round of 32 | 1/10 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | — | 50 | 22 | 8 | 20 | 52 | 57 | ||
Goalscorers
On June 21st 2026, Kevin Pina made football history by scoring Cape Verde's first ever FIFA World Cup goal, doing so in the 21st minute of their second group stage match against Uruguay in Miami.
| Player | Goals | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Pina | 1 | 1 |
| Hélio Varela | 1 | 1 |
| Deroy Duarte | 1 | 1 |
| Sidny Lopes Cabral | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 4 | 4 |
Tournaments
2026 FIFA World Cup
Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  Cape Verde |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Uruguay |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2[a] | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2[a] |
- Tied on head-to-head result (Saudi Arabia 1–1 Uruguay). Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
Knockout stage
- Round of 32
Argentina  | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
|
[Report 4] |
|
Off-field developments
During the tournament, New Zealand Police confirmed that captain Ryan Mendes was under investigation over an allegation of rape relating to an incident reported at a hotel in Auckland in March 2026, when the squad had been in the city for FIFA Series friendlies. The complainant had worked as an interpreter for the delegation. No charges were laid, and the allegation has not been tested in court.[13][14] FIFA said it was in contact with the New Zealand authorities, and neither FIFA nor the Cape Verdean federation announced any disciplinary action.[15]