Cape Verde lost 2-0 to Ghana in Morocco on Wednesday as they failed to match the feat of fellow Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) debutants Malawi.
Malawi, the lowest ranked of the 16 title contenders, stunned defending champions Nigeria 3-2 on Tuesday with the Chawinga sisters, Temwa and Tabitha, scoring the three goals.
Cape Verde, 60 places below Ghana in the world rankings, were hoping to emulate Malawi by defeating Ghana, bronze medallists at the last WAFCON.
The tiny nation also wanted to capture the imagination of the football world like the men's national team at the recent World Cup, where they took Argentina to extra time before bowing out.
Representing an archipelago off the west coast of Africa with a population of just over 500 000, Cape Verde fell behind after only seven minutes when Doris Boaduwaa scored.
Cape Verde fell further behind on 54 minutes as Eleia Vieira conceded an own goal. A cross struck her and beat goalkeeper Jacinta Rodrigues.
Rodrigues was constantly in action with her agility and bravery sparing the islanders a heavier loss at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Moroccan commercial capital Casablanca.
Ghana pressed forward from the kick-off of the opening Group D match and were rewarded when Boaduwaa latched on to a long, lofted pass from Portia Boakye and lobbed the ball over Rodriques.
Boaduwaa, a 23-year-old striker from the Hapoel Jerusalem club, could have had a hat-trick before halftime thanks to her prowess on the ground and in the air.
Cape Verde came closest to scoring after falling two goals behind when an audacious shot from the centre circle by Ivania Moreira forced a save from alert Cynthia Konlan.
The losers were reduced to 10 players two minutes into added time when Kleydiana Borges was shown a straight red card after a VAR review for fouling Linda Ansah.