Cape Verde has made history by qualifying for their first ever FIFA World Cup following their 3-0 win over Eswatini in their last group match.
After a goalless first half, the hosts bagged all the goals in the second-half with strikes coming from Dailon Livramento, Willy Semedo and veteran Stopira and book a first-ever appearance at the finals.
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The win means Cape Verde finished Group D on 23 points, four ahead of Cameroon, who were held at home to a goalless draw by Angola.
With the win, the tiny nation now joins Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Ghana who have qualified already from the CAF region.
Livramento took advantage of Eswatini’s failure to clear to steer home the ball from close range three minutes into the second half for the opener while Semedo also had a tap-in for the second six minutes later.
37 year old Stopira who had only come on as a late substitute as an acknowledgement of his long service with the team since 2008, and put a cherry on the cake with a stoppage-time goal.
Two decades ago, however, they had barely played any international football, averaging two games a year from 1986, when they joined FIFA, to 1990 when they competed in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time ranked 182nd in the world.
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