PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Cape Verde will play in the World Cup for the first time after beating Eswatini 3-0 to win its group in African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Monday.

The archipelago of volcanic islands off the western coast of Africa secured one of the nine automatic spots for the continent. It will be the second smallest country by population to feature in the tournament after Iceland in 2018.

Dailon Livramento scored in the 48th minute, Willy Semedo in the 54th and Stopira in stoppage time to secure the home victory and first place in Group D.

The Blue Sharks finished with four more points than Cameroon, which couldn't manage more than 0-0 with Angola at home.

Cape Verde, a nation of about 525,000 people, arrived needing a victory, and could have qualified even with a

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