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.
“We are so excited. I think the people are so excited and we’re going to do our best for our people,” Bubista — a distinguished former captain and defender on the national team — told CNN Sports.
Bubista oversaw a truly history-making qualifying campaign. A sequence of results that included a highly impressive five straight wins, the highlight of which featured a never-to-be-forgotten 1-0 triumph over the Cameroonians in September 2025.
But it’s October 13, 2025, that will be indelibly etched into the memory of all who witnessed Cape Verde’s historic win against Eswatini. A victory that would spark frenzied celebrations of joy in the country’s capital city Praia.
“Our people are so excited and so happy. Our people in the world, it’s just so great for our qualification and now our people are so grateful for everything,” Bubista added.
Cape Verde may be about to play in a first ever World Cup, but the national team is no stranger to success when it comes to competing in the Africa Cup of Nations having reached the quarterfinals in 2013 and then again, a decade later. Bubista oversaw the latter campaign but now the head coach’s focus is fully on his team’s tournament opener against Spain.
“We know it’s a very difficult match … They have very good players. We will respect them but anything is possible. We’re going to do our best to show the world what we can do in football,” Bubista reflected.
“We know it’s a hard game, but we have our heart and team spirit and this is important for us. Our unity is our strength,” he added.
The Blue Sharks will arrive in the US with a talented squad including Villarreal’s Logan Costa, Paris Saint-Germain 18-year-old Fabio Domingos and 36-year-old Ryan Mendes, who is the country’s most-capped player — with more than 90 appearances for the national team — and is Cape Verde’s all-time leading goalscorer.
And then there’s the remarkable story of the Shamrock Rovers forward Roberto “Pico” Lopes who was born in Ireland, but when it comes to international football, represents Cape Verde, currently ranked 69th in the world.
Lopes had always wanted to play for Ireland but when that didn’t materialize, he ended up playing for his father’s homeland after famously being recruited through a LinkedIn message from then-team head coach Rui Águas. Initially Lopes ignored the first message sent in Portuguese as spam but not the second one sent a few months later in English.
As well as facing Spain in their opener, the Cape Verdeans will also have matches against South American powerhouse Uruguay and 2034 hosts Saudi Arabia.
Cape Verde have nothing at all to lose going into the 2026 World Cup and their opponents would be wise not to underestimate the West African island nation.
Bubista himself is in no doubt. His team has been making history every step of the way these past few months and they’re not just there to make up the numbers.
“We want to make an impact on the tournament for our people. We want to show everyone watching that yes, we’re a small country, but we can play against the big teams. We know it’s hard but we want to show that nothing is impossible.”
