Cape Verde defeated Cameroon 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier that ended early this morning Beijing time. After this game, Cape Verde scored 19 points, leading Cameroon by 4 points, ranking first in Group D, and took the initiative in advance. This team, currently ranked 73rd in the world, is getting closer to advancing to the World Cup for the first time in team history.
The goal scored for Cape Verde's national team was Daron Livramento, who currently plays for Portuguese Super League team Casapia, and the Cameroon goal that was pierced by him was guarded by goalkeeper Onana, who was about to leave Manchester United on loan. Facing Livramento who was running away from the defense, the experienced Onana did not choose to attack, but waited at the goal line to see the opponent. The result was that Livramento scored a single goal.
The value of the starting lineups of the two sides in this game is 21 times different. Cameroon's team has players such as Onana, Mbermo, Baleba and Anguysa who play for the five major league clubs.
No one of Cape Verde's starting players played for the top five league teams. This place with an area of only 4,033 square kilometers and a population of less than 600,000, if their team successfully enters the World Cup, it will become the second least populous World Cup participating team in history, second only to Iceland (about 350,000 residents) participating in the 2018 World Cup.
Currently, Cape Verde leads the group standings with 19 points, and Cameroon ranks second with 15 points. According to the rules, only the first group can lead to the 2026 World Cup, and the second group must compete with the second in other groups. Four of the 9 groups with the best results will play the playoffs to compete for a place in a cross-continental playoff.
Cape Verde has two group matches, one after another against Libya and Swaziland at home. As long as they win one of them, they will advance to the World Cup in a historic manner!
