Cape Verde has become the second-least populous country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after Iceland.

Home to 600 000 people, Cape Verde booked their spot after topping Group D, ahead of Cameroon, who have a population of approximately 29 million.

The island nation will compete at the global showpiece for the first time. They beat Eswatini 3-0 in the capital, Praia, on Monday to confirm the top spot.

After a tense first half against Eswatini, they turned on the style after the break, with goals from Dailon Livramento, Willy Semedo and Stopira sparking scenes of joyous celebration at their National Stadium.

FIFA noted, “In terms of area, at just over 4,000 km, Cape Verde is the smallest nation to qualify for the tournament. Trinidad and Tobago previously held the record, having competed at Germany 2006.

“Expertly coached by former Cabo Verde international Bubista, they have displayed quality, spirit and resilience throughout their historic campaign. Their success has been built on the foundation of a solid, well-drilled defence, and they have recorded seven clean sheets across their ten group games.”

Cape Verde’s history-making campaign included a superb run of five successive victories, which culminated in a famous 1-0 home win against Cameroon last month. That gave them the opportunity to qualify with a victory over Libya on Friday, but they had to settle for a point after battling back from 3-1 down. They still had qualification in their own hands, however, and completed the job by overcoming Eswatini.

Cape Verde will discover their FIFA World Cup group-stage opponents when the draw takes place in Washington DC, United States, on 5 December.