Cape Verde, which enters the competition on June 15 against the formidable Spain, is one of the underdogs of this expanded 48-participant North American 2026 World Cup and relies in part on its diaspora to write its still recent football history.

A minnow of international football

Although Cape Verde is not the smallest participant in the World Cup, with Curaçao holding that title in both area and population, the Portuguese-speaking archipelago remains a small country (525,000 inhabitants, 4,033 km2) with a recent history in international football competitions.

The Cape Verdean Football Federation was only created in 1982, seven years after gaining independence from Portugal, and the national team only managed to play in the first round of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.

The Blue Sharks then reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations again, before securing their ticket to the first World Cup in their history, thanks to a controlled qualifying campaign, finishing ahead of a much more experienced nation like Cameroon.

"Bubista", national hero

Former captain of the Blue Sharks, for whom he wore the jersey from 1991 to 2005, Pedro Leitao Brito, known as "Bubista", after the island of Boa Vista where he was born, will be remembered as the one who led the Cape Verdeans to their first World Cup.

The former defender, who became coach of Cape Verde in 2020 after several stints as assistant, had already managed to reach the quarter-finals of the 2023 AFCON, equaling the performance of 2013.

The historic qualification for the World Cup was celebrated throughout the archipelago, with scenes of jubilation before the departure for America, where the large Cape Verdean diaspora will undoubtedly support their players.

A dream for "Bubista", whose passion for football was fueled by his fascination with the 1982 Spanish World Cup, from his small village of Povoaçao Velha.

"At that time, there was only one television in my village, and it was in high demand. I was particularly impressed by the German Lothar Matthäus and two Brazilian players, Eder and Falcao," he explained to FIFA.

Players from the diaspora

A large part of the Cape Verdean national team squad was born on the archipelago, such as the 39-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, or the experienced captain Ryan Mendes. At 36, the former winger for Le Havre and Lille now plays for Kocaelispor, which was promoted to the Turkish first division this season.

But the Blue Sharks also rely on players born abroad into families of Cape Verdean origin, who have immigrated to many European countries.

This is the case of full-back Steven Moreira, who played for Rennes, Lorient and Toulouse, is now with the Columbus Crew in the United States, and was born in Noisy-le-Grand in France.

The only player on the 26-man Cape Verdean World Cup squad to play in one of Europe's top five leagues, Logan Costa is also a native of France, from Saint-Denis. The solid 25-year-old central defender, who played for Toulouse, currently plays for Villarreal, with whom he is expected to compete in the Champions League next season.

A difficult group H

"After our qualification, I said I wanted to face the best teams. We can say we got what we asked for," joked "Bubista" after the announcement of the composition of Group H at the World Cup.

Cape Verde begins the competition with a match against one of the favorites for the ultimate title, Spain, the reigning European champion, and its constellation of young talents, even though the prodigy Lamine Yamal is uncertain for the start of the World Cup.

Uruguay, seeking revenge after their elimination in the group stage in Qatar, is also a solid opponent, accustomed to major competitions.

Even Saudi Arabia, who had good runs in 2018 and 2022 while failing to reach the knockout stages, could prove tough for Cape Verde.

The Blue Sharks still need to achieve results away from home in Praia, where they have already beaten nations like Egypt and Cameroon.