Cape Verde national football team

Cape Verde
Nickname(s)Tubarões Azuis
(Blue Sharks)[1]
Crioulos (Creoles)
AssociationCape Verdean Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachBubista
CaptainVozinha
Most capsBabanco (62)
Top scorerHéldon Ramos (15)[2]
Home stadiumEstádio Nacional de Cabo Verde
FIFA codeCPV
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 73 3 (19 November 2021)[3]
Highest27 (February 2014)
Lowest182 (April 2000)
First international
 Cape Verde 0–1 Guinea 
(Guinea-Bissau; 19 April 1978)
Biggest win
 Cape Verde 7–1 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Praia, Cape Verde; 13 June 2015)
Biggest defeat
 Senegal 5–1 Cape Verde 
(Mali; 12 February 1981)
 Cape Verde 0–4 Ghana 
(Praia, Cape Verde; 8 October 2005)
 Guinea 4–0 Cape Verde 
(Conakry, Guinea; 9 September 2007)
 Burkina Faso 4–0 Cape Verde 
(Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 14 November 2017)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances3 (first in 2013)
Best resultQuarter-finals, 2013
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cape Verde women's national football team.

The Cape Verde national football team (Portuguese: Seleção nacional de futebol de Cabo Verde) represents Cape Verde in men's international association football and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The team has never qualified for FIFA World Cups but has qualified for three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, in 2013, 2015 and 2021.

History

Overview

Cape Verde became independent from Portugal in 1975. The national team's first international was a 1–0 defeat to Guinea on 29 May 1978, in a tournament in Guinea-Bissau.[4] The Cape Verdean Football Federation was formed in 1982, and joined FIFA in 1986.[5]

Cape Verdeans abroad, who are more numerous than the population of the islands themselves, are a major source of players for the national team. Most of Cape Verde's current international footballers play outside Cape Verde (mainly in Europe, but also in Asia), and some were born outside the islands.[6]

Several players of Cape Verdean origin have chosen to play for other national teams. These include Eliseu, Nani, Oceano, Manuel Fernandes, Rolando, Nélson Marcos, Jorge Andrade, Miguel and Silvestre Varela, who all represent Portugal, as well as Mickaël Tavares, Jacques and Ricardo Faty (Senegal), Patrick Vieira (France), Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland), Henrik Larsson (Sweden), David Mendes da Silva, Lerin Duarte, Jerson Cabral (Netherlands) and Rui (Equatorial Guinea), among other examples.

World Cup and African Nations Cup qualifiers

Cape Verde has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have qualified for the 2013 African Cup of Nations. Its first World Cup qualifying campaign was the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, in which Cape Verde was eliminated in the first round after one draw and one defeat against Algeria.[7]

In the qualification campaign for the 2006 World Cup and the 2006 African Nations Cup, Cape Verde advanced to the Final Round after its first victory in a World Cup qualifier, beating Swaziland. In the Final Round, the team made an impression with its first-ever away victory against Burkina Faso, but finished fifth in its group and failed to qualify for either finals.[7]

Old coach João de Deus from Portugal brought in several new players from European leagues for the 2010 World Cup/2010 African Nations Cup qualifiers.[6] Cape Verde finished second in its group in the Second round, ahead of Tanzania and Mauritius, but behind Cameroon, and did not advance to the Third round. Cape Verde's top goalscorer of the qualifying campaign was Julio Tavares.

Then, finally, Cape Verde qualified for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, after stunning Cameroon 3–2 on aggregate.

2013 Africa Cup of Nations

On 14 October 2012, Cape Verde managed to secure their first ever berth in the Finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, when they defeated Cameroon 3–2 on aggregate score, following a 2–1 defeat to Cameroon at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé, having won the home leg 2–0 in Praia just weeks prior to their qualification.

On 24 October 2012, Cape Verde were drawn into Group A of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, alongside Angola, Morocco and the host nation South Africa. Furthermore, Cape Verde played the opening match of the tournament at Soccer City in Johannesburg, Gauteng, against South Africa on 19 January 2013 – Soccer City being the host venue for the 2010 World Cup Final. Pulled from the fourth pot during the group stage drawing of the tournament, Cape Verde actually had the highest FIFA ranking of any team in their group at the time of the drawing, ranking at 51st overall, followed by Morocco (71st), South Africa (72nd) and Angola (83rd). Cape Verde also had the 10th highest FIFA ranking in the CAF zone at the time of the drawing as well.

Cape Verde drew with South Africa 0–0 in the tournament's first match, before drawing with Morocco 1–1. Platini scored Cape Verde's first ever goal at the AFCON, who were unfortunate to let an early lead slip. They however did win their first ever AFCON match against Angola, which they won 2–1 (despite an early own goal by captain Nando Maria Neves), through the late goals from Fernando Varela and Héldon Ramos, thus qualifying for the quarter-finals, and thus reaching the last eight in their maiden appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations.

On 2 February 2013, Cape Verde faced Ghana in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Cape Verde played a good match, with 16 shots on Ghana's goal to their eight, with seven shots on target to their two, Cape Verde proved to be especially dangerous from set-pieces, however Ghana's keeper Abdul Dauda managed to keep a clean sheet making some spectacular saves, and with Mubarak Wakaso scoring a penalty kick for Ghana in the 54' minute, and then scoring again in the closing minute of the game (90+5') on an open goal, Ghana would win the match 2–0, to move on to the semi-finals, and ending Cape Verde's exceptional 2013 Africa Cup of Nations campaign.[8]

2015 Africa Cup of Nations

On 15 October 2014, Cape Verde became the first of two nations to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Algeria, joining the host nation Equatorial Guinea after defeating Mozambique 1–0 at home.[9] The team, under newly appointed manager Rui Águas, picked up where Lúcio Antunes left off and managed to finish in the top two of the group stage with two matches remaining to play in the qualification process, having been drawn in a group together with Mozambique, Niger and Zambia.[10] On 15 November 2014, Cape Verde secured first place in their group, finishing as Group F winners by defeating Niger 3–1 at home, with one match remaining to play for qualification.[11]

Pooled from Pot 3 on 3 December 2014, Cape Verde were drawn into Group B of the final tournament, together with Zambia, Tunisia and DR Congo. On 18 January 2015 they played their first match against Tunisia at the Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Héldon leveling the score off a penalty kick in the 78-minute. Cape Verde then drew 0–0 against DR Congo four days later, with the advancement out of the group stage depending on the final match results of both teams.[12]

Facing off against Zambia on 26 January 2015, with both teams depending on the result of the other match between Tunisia and DR Congo and having to finish with a win themselves, the match ended in 0–0 draw, leaving both Cape Verde and Zambia eliminated from the Cup.[13] Contested during a tropical storm, with 26 mm of heavy rainfall, Cape Verde exited the tournament tied with DR Congo for points and undefeated, yet losing to DR Congo on goal difference. Exhibiting good form, poise and defensive prowess, the team were only able to score one goal, while exiting at the group stage of their second appearance in the finals of the tournament, while remaining unbeaten in any Cup of Nations group stage match.[14]

Other tournaments and notable matches

Cape Verde has two titles: It hosted and won the Amílcar Cabral Cup in 2000, and won the gold medal in the football tournament at the 2009 Lusophony Games. The team also won a bronze medal at the 2006 Lusophony Games. For the first time in its history, on 2 November 2002, it faced a non-African team, Luxembourg, in a friendly, resulting in a scoreless draw. On 4 September 2009, it faced Malta in a friendly, resulting in a 2–0 victory. On 24 May 2010, Cape Verde played out a 0–0 draw in a friendly match against a full-strength Portugal.[15] At the time, Portugal was third in the FIFA rankings and Cape Verde were 117th.[16] On 31 March 2015, a second friendly against Portugal resulted in a 2–0 victory in Portugal.[17]

Stadiums
Main articles: Estádio da Várzea and Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde

The team used to play their games at Estádio da Várzea. It is located in the capital city, Praia, on the Santiago Island. The stadium opened in 2006 and holds 10,000 people.

In 2014 the new stadium Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde was opened, able to host a capacity of 15,000 people. On 15 October 2014 the team qualified for their second Africa Cup of Nations at the new stadium, in a 1–0 victory over Mozambique, making them the first of all teams in CAF to qualify for the tournament.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures
For all past match results of the national team, see Cape Verde national football team results.

The following matches were played or are scheduled to be played by the national team in the current or upcoming seasons.

2021
26 March 2021 AFCON Q Cape Verde  3–1  Cameroon Praia, Cape Verde
15:00 UTC−1
Report
Stadium: Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde
Referee: Lahlou Benbraham (Algeria)
30 March 2021 AFCON Q Mozambique  0–1  Cape Verde Maputo, Mozambique
21:00 UTC+2 Report
Stadium: Estádio do Zimpeto
Referee: Messie Nkounkou (Congo)
8 June Friendly Senegal  2–0  Cape Verde Thiès, Senegal
19:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior
Referee: Maudo Jallow (Gambia)
11 June Friendly Guinea-Bissau  Cancelled  Cape Verde Senegal
19:00 UTC±0
1 September 2022 World Cup qualification - Group C Central African Republic  1–1  Cape Verde Douala, Cameroon
14:00 UTC+1 Toropité  53' Report J. Tavares  36' Stadium: Stade de la Réunification
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
7 September 2022 World Cup qualification - Group C Cape Verde  1–2  Nigeria Mindelo, Cape Verde
15:00 15:00 UTC−1
Report
Stadium: Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
7 October 2022 World Cup qualification - Group C Liberia  1–2  Cape Verde Accra, Ghana
13:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Accra Sports Stadium
Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso)
10 October 2022 World Cup qualification Cape Verde  1–0  Liberia Mindelo, Cape Verde
15:00 UTC−1 Mendes  90' Report Stadium: Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena
Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)
13 November 2022 World Cup qualification Cape Verde  2–1  Central African Republic Mindelo, Cape Verde
15:00 UTC−1
Report
Stadium: Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena
Referee: Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea (Ghana)
16 November 2022 World Cup qualification Nigeria  1–1  Cape Verde Lagos, Nigeria
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Teslim Balogun Stadium
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)
December Friendly Cape Verde  v  Gabon TBD, United Arab Emirates
Stadium: TBD

2022
9 January 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Ethiopia  v Cape Verde Yaoundé, Cameroon
Stadium: Olembe Stadium
13 January 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde v  Burkina Faso Yaoundé, Cameroon
Stadium: Olembe Stadium
17 January 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde v  Cameroon Yaoundé, Cameroon
Stadium: Olembe Stadium

Players

Current squad
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Vozinha (1986-06-03) 3 June 1986 51 0 AEL Limassol
12 1GK Márcio Rosa (1997-02-23) 23 February 1997 2 0 Montalegre
1GK Dylan Silva (1999-02-10) 10 February 1999 0 0 Portimonense
2 2DF Stopira (1988-05-20) 20 May 1988 45 2 Fehérvár
2DF Jeffry Fortes (1989-03-22) 22 March 1989 21 0 De Graafschap
4 2DF Steven Fortès (1992-04-17) 17 April 1992 8 0 Oostende
22 2DF Steve Furtado (1994-11-22) 22 November 1994 8 0 Beroe Stara Zagora
16 2DF Dylan Tavares (1996-08-30) 30 August 1996 8 1 Neuchâtel Xamax
2DF Henrique Brito (1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 0 0 Felgueiras
3 2DF Roberto Lopes (1992-06-17) 17 June 1992 7 0 Shamrock Rovers
2DF Lorenzo Fonseca (1998-11-17) 17 November 1998 1 0 Académica
13 2DF Cláudio Tavares (1997-03-23) 23 March 1997 0 0 Santarém
14 2DF Kelvin Pires (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 1 0 Trenčín
20 4FW Ryan Mendes (1990-01-08) 8 January 1990 54 12 Al-Nasr
6 3MF Marco Soares (1984-06-16) 16 June 1984 52 3 Arouca
10 3MF Jamiro Monteiro (1993-11-28) 28 November 1993 12 1 Philadelphia Union
8 3MF Hélder Tavares (1989-12-26) 26 December 1989 12 0 Voluntari
18 3MF Kenny Rocha Santos (2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 10 0 Oostende
7 3MF Patrick Andrade (1993-02-09) 9 February 1993 8 0 Qarabağ
3MF Nuno Borges (1988-03-31) 31 March 1988 8 0 Casa Pia
17 3MF Telmo Arcanjo (2001-06-21) 21 June 2001 1 0 Tondela
5 3MF Kevin Pina (1997-01-27) 27 January 1997 0 0 Chaves
19 4FW Júlio Tavares (1988-11-19) 19 November 1988 39 5 Al-Faisaly
11 4FW Garry Rodrigues (1990-11-27) 27 November 1990 35 6 Olympiacos
4FW Ricardo Gomes (1991-12-18) 18 December 1991 14 4 Partizan
15 4FW Vagner Gonçalves (1996-01-10) 10 January 1996 4 1 Metz
4FW Gilson Tavares (2001-12-29) 29 December 2001 4 0 Estoril Praia
4FW Willis Furtado (1997-09-04) 4 September 1997 3 0 Jerv
4FW Vasco Lopes (1999-09-02) 2 September 1999 1 0 Farense

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Cape Verde in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Sixten Mohlin (1996-01-17) 17 January 1996 1 0 Östersunds vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
GK Iván Cruz (1996-05-03) 3 May 1996 0 0 Paredes vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
DF Carlos Ponck (1995-01-13) 13 January 1995 18 0 İstanbul Başakşehir vs.  Lebanon, 7 October 2021
DF Steven Pereira (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 7 0 Free agent vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
DF Diney (1995-01-17) 17 January 1995 6 0 FAR Rabat vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
DF Tiago Almeida (1990-09-13) 13 September 1990 11 0 Free agent vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
MF Cuca (1991-01-09) 9 January 1991 1 0 Casa Pia vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
MF Bruno Leite (1995-03-26) 26 March 1995 6 0 Pafos vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
MF João Paulo (1998-05-26) 26 May 1998 1 0 Feirense vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
MF Kuca (1989-08-02) 2 August 1989 15 1 Free agent vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
MF Ericson Silva (1987-11-25) 25 November 1987 1 0 Académico de Viseu vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
FW Willy Semedo (1994-04-27) 27 April 1994 3 0 Pafos vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
FW Lisandro Semedo (1996-03-12) 12 March 1996 8 1 Fortuna Sittard vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
FW Alexis Gonçalves (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997 1 0 RWDM47 vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
FW Rely Cabral (1997-05-06) 6 May 1997 1 0 SD Leioa vs.  Senegal, 8 June 2021
FW Djaniny (1991-03-21) 21 March 1991 32 5 Trabzonspor vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
FW Patrick Fernandes (1993-12-13) 13 December 1993 2 0 Chaves vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
FW Dodo (1990-12-06) 6 December 1990 0 0 Ħamrun Spartans vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021
FW Papalélé (1998-05-16) 16 May 1998 2 1 Montalegre vs.  Mozambique, 30 March 2021

WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player has retired from international football.
SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records
As of 10 October 2021[19]
Players in bold are still active with Cape Verde.

Managers since 2003

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1974 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
1978 to 1982 Not a member of FIFA Not a member of FIFA
1986 to 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
2002 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 2
2006 12 4 2 6 12 16
2010 6 3 0 3 7 8
2014 6 3 0 3 9 7
2018 8 3 0 5 5 14
2022 6 3 2 1 8 6
2026 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/22 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 16 5 19 41 53

Africa Cup of Nations
Titles: 0
Appearances: 3
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad
1957Part of  Portugal
1959
1962
1963
1965
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976Not a member of CAF
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994Did not qualify
1996Withdrew
1998Did not enter
2000Did not qualify
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013Quarter-finals7th412134Squad
2015Group stage11th303011Squad
2017Did not qualify
2019
2021Qualified
2023To be determined
2025
Total Quarter-finals 3/33 7 1 5 1 4 5 —

Honours

References
  1. "Conheça as alcunhas das 16 seleções finalistas" [Meet the nicknames of the 16 finalists]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 2 February 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  2. Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  3. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. Courtney, Barry (5 June 2006). "Cape Verde Islands – List of International matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  5. "Cape Verde Islands". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  6. "Foreign contingent boost Cape Verde". FIFA. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  7. "Cape Verde Islands: Profile". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  8. "Ghana vs. Cape Verde Islands 2–0". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  9. "AFCON 2015 ROUND UP: Algeria, Cape Verde qualify, Zambia & Nigeria revive fortunes and Uganda suffers set back". Kawowo Sports. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  10. "Rui Águas quer levar seleção à CAN2015". Sapo Desporto. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  11. "Cape Verde leave it late to crush Niger". SuperSport. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  12. "Cape Verde hit back to deny Tunisia". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  13. "Cape Verde Islands 0–0 DR Congo". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  14. "Afcon 2015: Group B as it happened". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  15. "Report: Portugal v Cape Verde Islands – International Friendly – ESPN Soccernet". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  16. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Cape Verde Islands - Men's". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  17. "Portugal 0 Cape Verde Islands 2". BBC Sport. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  18. "De Portugal seguem nove jogadores para a seleção (Cabo Verde)". A Bola.
  19. Mamrud, Roberto. "Cape Verde Islands - Record International Players". RSSSF.
  20. "Futebol: Óscar Duarte na equipa técnica dos Travadores". Sapo Noticias. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  21. "Cape Verde island coach Alhinho resigns". ESPN Soccernet. Reuters. 5 January 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  22. "Ze Rui appointed Cape Verde coach". BBC. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  23. "Cape Verde confirm identity of new coach". BBC. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  24. "De Deus New Cape Verde Coach". MTN Football. 22 November 2006. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  25. "Soccer federation unaware of national selection coach's alleged exit". Asemana. 25 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  26. "Lúcio Antunes tapped as new national soccer team coach". Asemana. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  27. "Lúcio Antunes tapped as new national soccer team coach". BBC Sport. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  28. "Rui Águas é o novo selecionador de Cabo Verde". DN Desporto. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
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