CLAIM : A Facebook post by Born 2 Blog claims that “Cape Verde is the second smallest country in the world” and that the nation has qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
VERDICT: Misleading! Cape Verde has indeed qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but it is not the second smallest country in the world. As reported by credible outlets such as the BBC, it is the second smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup after Iceland. The claim distorts context and exaggerates the country’s global ranking by size.
FULL TEXT
Cape Verde made history on October 13, 2025, by clinching its first-ever qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Eswatini 3-0 at home. The achievement was celebrated nationwide as a milestone in the country’s football legacy.
On October 13, 2025, a viral post from the Facebook page Born 2 Blog claimed that “the second smallest country in the world, Cape Verde, with a population like Kenema, has qualified for the World Cup.” The post also compared Cape Verde’s football progress to Sierra Leone’s, alleging that despite spending $10 million, Mohamed Kallon and his team have failed to qualify.
The post attracted over 1.4K reactions, hundreds of comments, and multiple shares, sparking mixed reactions among Sierra Leoneans online. Many users mocked Sierra Leone’s football investment, while others questioned the accuracy of the claim that it is the “second smallest country in the world.”
Reason for Fact-checking:
This claim was fact-checked because a viral Facebook post by Born 2 Blog alleged that Cape Verde is the second-smallest country in the world. The post garnered widespread engagement and comparisons with Sierra Leone’s football performance, sparking a user debate and misinformation.
Verification
According to the BBC Sport article “World Cup 2026 qualifying: Cape Verde make history as second-smallest qualifier,” Cape Verde becomes the second-smallest nation by population ever to reach the men’s World Cup finals, behind only Iceland in 2018.
Al Jazeera similarly reports that “Cape Verde is the second-smallest country to qualify for the World Cup after Iceland”.
Multiple other sources confirm that Cape Verde’s population is “just under 525,000” (according to World Bank figures and other reports), which matches the context used in the BBC’s description. See here, here, here, and here.
DUBAWA went further to find out the smallest countries by population across the globe. Niue is the second-smallest country in terms of population.
Conclusion
The claim is misleading because it conflates two different ideas. Cape Verde is the second-smallest nation by population (among all countries that have ever qualified for a men’s FIFA World Cup). It is not the second-smallest country in the world.