Cape Verde is officially heading to the FIFA World Cup 2026, and its presence alone is a masterclass in defying the odds. Making history as the least populated country ever to grace football’s grandest stage, this tiny island nation of roughly 600,000 residents has proved that heart beats numbers every single time.

Entering the tournament as the third-lowest-ranked team in the competition, the Blue Sharks will look to ensure that they are not taking part just to make up the numbers; they are carrying the dreams of an entire diaspora. What they lack in sheer population or deep-seated tournament pedigree, they more than make up for with tactical discipline, explosive pace, and an unshakeable underdog spirit.

Cape Verde’s historic qualification is the ultimate feel-good story of the 2026 edition and has been written off by many before a ball is even kicked.

Cape Verde’s Group H in the FIFA World Cup 2026

• 
  Cape Verde
• 
  Spain
• 
  Uruguay
• 
  Saudi Arabia

How did Cape Verde qualify for the 2026 World Cup?

Cape Verde, officially known as Cabo Verde, secured a historic first-ever FIFA World Cup qualification by finishing at the top of a highly competitive CAF qualifying group. The island nation impressed throughout the campaign, winning eight of its 10 matches to earn direct qualification for the 2026 tournament.

One of the key factors behind its success was its dominant home form. Cape Verde won all five of its home fixtures and remarkably did not concede a single goal on home soil during the qualifiers.

Cape Verde’s schedule for the FIFA World Cup 2026

Cape Verde’s key strengths

Cape Verde’s biggest strength is their defensive organization and team unity. Led by experienced goalkeeper Vozinha and defenders Logan Costa, Steven Moreira, Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes, and Stopira, the Blue Sharks are difficult to break down and remain disciplined without possession. 
Their midfield, featuring Jamiro Monteiro, Kevin Pina, Laros Duarte, and Deroy Duarte, provides energy, tactical awareness, and balance between defense and attack. 
Cape Verde are especially dangerous on the counterattack, with quick forwards such as Ryan Mendes, Garry Rodrigues, Jovane Cabral, Dailon Livramento, and Willy Semedo capable of exploiting spaces left by opponents. Many squad members play in European leagues, bringing valuable experience and professionalism. 
Their strong work ethic, resilience, and collective approach make them a competitive and unpredictable opponent.

Cape Verde’s main weaknesses

Despite their progress, Cape Verde face challenges against top international teams like Spain and Uruguay. The squad lacks the depth and individual star power of established football nations, making injuries or suspensions to key players potentially costly. While the attack possesses pace and creativity, Cape Verde do not have a proven world-class goalscorer who can consistently convert limited chances against elite defenses. 
The team often relies on collective play rather than individual brilliance in the final third. Another concern is their lack of World Cup experience, with many players entering football’s biggest stage for the first time. The higher intensity and quality of opposition could test the squad throughout the tournament. To reach the knockout rounds, Cape Verde must remain defensively solid and improve their efficiency in front of goal.

Cape Verde squad for FIFA World Cup 2026:

Goalkeepers: Vozinha, Marcio Rosa, CJ dos Santos

Defenders: Diney Borges, Sidny Cabral, Logan Costa, Steven Moreira, Wagner Pina, Joao Paulo Fernandes, Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes, Kelvin Pires, Ianique ‘Stopira’ Tavares

Midfielders: Telmo Arcanjo, Laros Duarte, Deroy Duarte, Jamiro Monteiro, Kevin Pina, Yannick Semedo

Forwards: Gilson Benchimol, Jovane Cabral, Nuno da Costa, Dailon Livramento, Ryan Mendes, Garry Rodrigues, Willy Semedo, Helio Varela

TNT guard Jordan Heading reacts during Game 6 of the PBA semifinals against Meralco. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—TNT was only one title away last season from completing a rare Grand Slam.

However, those dreams were halted when they fell to San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup Finals. They suffered another Finals loss to the Beermen this season in the same conference.

One of the main guys during those Finals runs was Jordan Heading, who made his conference debut with the Tropang 5G in last year’s All-Filipino conference.

But instead of a championship celebration, TNT ended up falling short, a moment Heading hopes to rewrite this time in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra.

“This means everything. When you lose in the finals, it sticks with you,” said Heading.

“The whole offseason, that’s all I thought about, when I train in the morning, that’s all I think about.”

Heading’s determination to make amends showed most in Game 6 of the semifinals against Meralco Bolts.

With TNT aalready up 3-2 in the series, Heading helped close the door on a potential Game 7, finishing with 30 points on 69.2 percent shooting to send TNT back to the Finals.

“I’m blessed and thankful to have another shot and we’ll give it everything we got and we’ll keep coming back.”

Since joining TNT, Heading has helped the Tropang 5G reach three straight Finals appearances, including the upcoming clash with the Gin Kings.

While his Finals record stands at 0-2, he looks to change that starting Wednesday when Game 1 of the championship series tips off at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan has promised fans the club will look to appoint a new manager “in a timely but deliberate manner”, following the announcement of Marco Silva’s departure.

The billionaire promised to take the Cottagers to “the next level” after purchasing the club from Mohamed Al Fayed in purchasing the club from Mohamed Al Fayed in July 2013.

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After a few seasons bouncing between the Premier League and the Championship, the club has sustained its top-flight status since promotion in 2021-22 under Silva.

In a statement published by Fulham, Khan said: “Marco Silva leaves our club with my gratitude and best wishes.

“We were an excellent fit for five seasons, but change is inevitable in this game and we have accordingly prepared for this moment.

“The talent in our squad, our historic home ground of Craven Cottage, our faithful supporters and my commitment to backing the club, all make Fulham an extraordinarily attractive destination for an incoming head coach.

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“We will soon appoint a new leader in a timely but deliberate manner, who will meet the standards of our club and expectations of our fans throughout the world.”

Which manager – whether a free agent or tied to a club – would pique your interest? And what is the reasoning behind your pick?

Get in touch with your views here

Two senators have introduced a potentially revolutionary bipartisan bill dubbed the ‘Protect College Sports Act’.

Will the bill do what it claims to intend?

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, Spencer McLaughlin and ‘Locked On Irish’ host Tyler Wojciak discuss the impact the bill could have on Notre Dame.

Would it force the Irish to change anything about how they operate?

Trinidad Chambliss carried Ole Miss to the brink of the national title game in 2025.

Will he be viewed as the top QB in college football in 2026? Spencer and Tyler discuss.

00:00 College football reform efforts
05:36 Conference media rights challenges
08:12 Meeting on college sports reform
13:28 Concerns about college football super league
14:13 Discussing media rights and revenue sharing
18:13 Notre Dame conference discussion
26:24 Praising Gunnar Stockton’s skills

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

Jaxson Dart faced the music last week when he gave a statement in response to introducing President Donald Trump at an event in New York.

The New York Giants quarterback was invited to introduce Trump, and it prompted backlash from fans, media and even teammate Abdul Carter.

Nonetheless, Dart addressed the situation in an effort to put it in the past, yet in doing so, he received further backlash from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart greets President Donald Trump during a Fighting For American Workers event in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Dart explained that he had a “unique opportunity” to introduce the president of the United States, and “the President position has always been a position that I’ve well respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party and, you know, my intentions were just that.”

But Florio said that Dart “punted” on “the most important question” he was asked by the press — if he realized why the decision to introduce Trump was controversial.

“That’s the only question that needed to be answered,” Florio said on Monday’s edition of “Pro Football Talk Live.” “And well, ‘I’ll refer back to my statement,’ but your statement doesn’t address that. Your statement tries to make it apolitical. You can’t. It’s impossible to make that gesture at this moment, in this time, apolitical. Merely being there and introducing the president is a political statement.

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and President Donald Trump attend an event inside Eugene Levy Fieldhouse at Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22, 2026. Trump spoke about his economic accomplishments in the toss-up congressional district represented by Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for reelection in the November midterm elections. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

FORMER MSNBC HOST JOY REID SAYS SHE IS NO LONGER A NEW YORK GIANTS FAN BECAUSE JAXSON DART INTRODUCED TRUMP

“That’s where I think we need to be realistic, and anybody who would say it’s not political is trying to advance their own agenda to excuse Dart and criticize Abdul Carter.”

Carter said on X that he thought a video of Dart and Trump was “AI,” adding, “What are we doing man?”

Dart added that he understands politics are “a sensitive matter” and that being the team’s starting quarterback carries responsibility. Dart and Carter hugged it out after they spoke to the media about the ordeal.

“Stand on what you believe in. But it can’t be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That’s all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it’s all good,” Carter said.

“I mean, we just talked,” Dart added. “You know, me and Abdul came here at the same time. We shared a lot of very similar experiences. We’ve experienced adversity through a season and had to have each other’s backs and that’s exactly what we continued to do today.”

Giants linebacker Abdul Quarter says there is no beef between him and quarterback Jaxson Dart after he made an appearance at an event featuring President Donald Trump. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images and Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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Jameis Winston said he was “proud of” Dart and Carter “for having this conversation and getting in front of y’all and speaking what they would love.

“I’m proud of our team for understanding that we don’t have to pick a side in this,” he added.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

In Dwight McGlothern, the Vikings have somebody who boasts upside but who needs further refinement. At what point does that belief in future growth need to shift toward investing in another player?

The Vikings corner has already overcome long odds. As an undrafted rookie, McGlothern made the roster, but was seldom used due to the four veterans ahead of him (Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau). As a sophomore, McGlothern yet again made the final roster, but was again buried behind several veterans (Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers, and Jeff Okudah). Seeing that trend continue appears unlikely.

The Tall & Fast Vikings Corner Needs to Battle

Nicknamed “Nudie,” Mr. McGlothern offers a lot to like (including a fantastic nickname).

He stands at 6’2″ and weighs 185 pounds. Basically, super long but not as sturdy as someone like Xavier Rhodes (listed at 6’1″ and 218 pounds). Boasting his build means (in theory) being able to hang with tall outside receivers. So far, the Vikings haven’t given him the chance to do so. Note that he ran a 4.47 forty. That’s not unheard of speed, but it’s very good. In a rough sense, that speed is a touch better than Murphy but not as formidable as Rodgers.

As a rookie in 2024, Dwight McGlothern earned 19 snaps on defense and just 17 snaps on special teams. He then had 31 snaps on defense in 2025 while offering 20 snaps for Matt Daniels on specials.

For a variety of reasons, those snap totals are quite odd.

— READ MORE ON VT: The Vikings’ Cap Space Swells —
— READ MORE ON VT: Former Vikings Defender Apologizes —
— READ MORE ON VT: The Vikings’ Ill-Fated WR Swap Led to Snagging a Young Center —

Seeing a young fella — especially an undrafted player — fail to earn a beefy workload early on isn’t strange. What is strange, though, is carving out a roster spot for this player when there’s not a special teams job. Most youthful players ply their trade on specials while trying to earn more snaps on either offense or defense. Not so with McGlothern.

Somehow, the Vikings corner has stuck around while offering a negligible workload for defense and special teams. How long can that continue?

In theory, McGlothern’s big chance arrived last year. Very unfortunately, Mr. Okudah yet again went down due to injury. Minnesota’s planned CB3 had to step away to get back to full health. The only other corner on the active roster was McGlothern, but Minnesota opted to bump up Moreau from the practice squad to handle the job, bypassing the built-in roster solution.

Curiouser and curiouser, some literary folks may say.

As 2026 keeps moving along, Dwight McGlothern faces a fresh round of competition. Worse yet, many of these guys look very similar to him: long, speedy corners.

Most prominent have been the additions of James Pierre and Chuck Demmings. Neither of these two are going to be subtracted. All things being equal, Pierre and Demmings are moving toward spots on the 53-man roster. If so, then that leaves McGlothern in a difficult position since last year’s final team only had four corners. The quartet of Murphy, Rodgers, Pierre, and Demmings would chew through those open slots if the Vikings again roll with four.

McGlothern’s job is to show that a fifth player is worthy of keeping. Doing so without being a special teams contributor feels like a tall ask for the soon-to-be third-year player. Can any of Zemaiah Vaughn, Marcus Allen, or some of the other young fellas prove capable of being that upside corner to develop?

Dwight McGlothern is 24.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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IPL 2026 concluded on Sunday, May 31 with the grand final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. RCB beat GT by five wickets to clinch their second successive title in the T20 league, becoming only the third team to do so after Chennai Super Kings (2010–2011) and Mumbai Indians (2019–2020).

Bowling first after winning the toss, RCB did exceedingly well to restrict GT to 155-8. Rasikh Salam Dar claimed three wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood picked up two each. In the chase, Virat Kohli yet again led the way with 75* off 42 balls as RCB got home in 18 overs to seal a memorable win. He added 62 for the first wicket in Venkatesh Iyer (32 off 16) in just 4.3 overs.

A number of prominent records were broke during the course of IPL 2026. Following the conclusion of the T20 tournament, we look back at five massive records that were broken in IPL 2026.

#1 Most 6s in a single season by a batter

Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a sensational IPL 2026 season. The 15-year-old broke the record for most sixes hit in a single season of the IPL. The southpaw smacked a total of 72 sixes in the recently concluded edition, easily surpassing the previous best by Chris Gayle – 59 sixes in 2012. He also became the youngest winner of the Orange Cap for scoring 776 runs.

#2 Highest successful run chase in IPL history

The 2026 edition also witnessed the highest successful run chase in the history of the IPL. Punjab Kings (PBKS) chased down a target of 265 runs against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Incredibly, PBKS got over the line in 18.5 overs, with six wickets in hand. They were helped by DC, who dropped a number of simple catches.

By chasing down a target of 265 against DC, PBKS bettered their own record. They had chased down a target of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in IPL 2024. PBKS won the high-scoring match by eight wickets, with eight balls to spare.

#3 Highest individual score by an Indian in the IPL

During the DC vs PBKS IPL 2026 clash at Arun Jaitley Stadium, KL Rahul also created history, registering the highest individual score by an Indian batter in the IPL. He slammed an unbeaten 152 off just 67 balls, a knock which featured 16 fours and nine sixes.

Rahul broke Abhishek Sharma’s record, who clobbered 141 off 55 balls for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) against PBKS in Hyderabad in IPL 2025. Rahul’s knock, however, went in vain as PBKS chased down a target of 265, Despite DC’s defeat, Rahul was named Player of the Match for his fantastic effort.

#4 Most individual hundreds in an IPL season

IPL 2026 also witnessed the most number of individual centuries being registered in an IPL season – 15. The previous record was 14 in 2014. While CSK opener Sanju Samson struck two tons, Sooryavanshi, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhishek, Tilak Varma and Mitchell Marsh were some of the other prominent names to hit a ton in IPL 2026.

#5 First instance of three batters scoring 700-plus runs in an IPL season

IPL 2026 also marked the first instance of three batters scoring 700-plus runs during the same season. RR opener Sooryavanshi finished as the leading run-getter, with 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30. GT skipper Gill amassed 732 runs at an average of 45.75 and strike rate of 163.02. Sai Sudharsan scored 722 runs, averaging 45.12 at a strike rate of 157.98.

Sooryavanshi struck one hundred and five half-centuries in IPL 2026. As for Gill, he hammered one ton and six fifties. Sai Sudharsan finished the tournament with one century and as many as eight half-centuries.