Cape Verde World Cup qualification proves small can stand tall

Jubilation hit the streets in Cape Verde when the country - with a population of less than 600,000 qualified for the Fifa World Cup, ahead of group favourites Cameroon (Little Cape Verde bursts out in celebration after first World Cup qualification, Oct 14).

- Satish Kumar Khattar

This feat was surpassed only by Iceland with a 335,000 population at the World Cup in Moscow in 2018.

While Singapore as a small nation also proudly punches well above its weight in many areas, football is not one of them. So how can two countries, whose combined population is less than one million, do so well in an arena that Singapore has longed to be in, but never even come close?

Is it money, mentality or focus?

Or perhaps all three?