Hyderabad, Oct. 18 -- The world of football is buzzing with excitement becausethe biggest everFIFA World Cup, featuring teams from 48 countries, will be held jointly by the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026. The qualification matches are going on now and some first timers have already qualified. They includeJordan,Uzbekistan and Cape Verde. The last mentioned, Cape Verde, is an unknownteam for all football lovers. It is a nation ofsmallislands consisting of an archipelagooff the coast of West Africa.

With a total population of less than6 lakhs, scattered across severaltinyand rocky islandswith poor sports infrastructure, the rise of Cape Verdewas totallyunexpected. Itis being seen as a rare phenomenon in world football.But amidst all this e...