Cape Verde national football team

History

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. The Cape Verdean Football Federation was formed in 1982, and joined FIFA in 1986.

On 2 November 2002, Cape Verde faced a non-African team for the first time, in a scoreless friendly against Luxembourg.

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.

On 24 May 2010, Cape Verde played out a 0–0 draw in a friendly match against a full-strength Portugal. At the time, Portugal was third in the FIFA rankings and Cape Verde were 117th.

Their first World Cup qualifying campaign was for the 2002 tournament, in which Cape Verde was eliminated in the first round after one draw and a defeat against Algeria. In the qualification campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, Cape Verde advanced to the final round after their 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 tournament.

On 4 September 2009, Cape Verde faced Malta in a friendly, resulting in a 2–0 victory.

Old coach João de Deus from Portugal brought in several new players from European leagues for the World Cup and AFCON qualifiers. 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. Then, Cape Verde made their AFCON debut in 2013, after stunning Cameroon 3–2 on aggregate, following a 2–1 defeat at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé, having won the home leg 2–0 in Praia.

Cape Verde were drawn into Group A of the finals, alongside Angola, Morocco and the host nation South Africa; they played the opening match of the tournament at Soccer City in Johannesburg, Gauteng, against the hosts on 19 January 2013. 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 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, before they won their first ever AFCON match against Angola, 2–1 (despite an early own goal by captain Nando Maria Neves), reaching the quarter-finals.

On 2 February 2013, Cape Verde faced Ghana in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, registering 16 shots on Ghana's goal to their eight, with seven shots on target to their two. Ghana eventually knocked Cape Verde out.

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. 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. 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.

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 Estadio de Ebibeyin. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Héldon leveling the score off a penalty kick in the 78th minute. Cape Verde then drew 0–0 against DR Congo four days later, with their group stage placement depending on the final match results of both teams. Facing off against Zambia on 26 January, the match ended in 0–0 draw, leaving both Cape Verde and Zambia eliminated from the Cup. Contested during a tropical storm, with 26 mm of rainfall, Cape Verde exited the tournament tied with DR Congo for points and undefeated, finishing behind them on goal difference.

On 31 March 2015, Cape Verde won 2–0 against Portugal at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota in Estoril.

Cape Verde qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and were drawn into Group B. They defeated Ghana 2–1 in the first group stage match when Garry Rodrigues scored a late match-winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time. In their second match, Cape Verde defeated Mozambique 3-0. This result, along with others in the group, meant that Cape Verde entered the final group match already having secured passage to the knockout stage as the winners of Group B. In the last group stage match, Cape Verde faced Egypt. After the Egypt had scored a go-ahead stoppage time goal, Bryan Teixeira equalised deep into stoppage time to secure a 2–2 draw. In the Round of 16, Cape Verde faced Mauritania, and captain Ryan Mendes scored a crucial penalty late in the second half to send them to the quarter-finals, where Cape Verde faced South Africa. The match ended in a goalless draw after 120 minutes, thus sending it to penalties. Cape Verde were knocked out of the tournament after failing to convert four of their five penalty kicks, losing the shootout 1–2.

Cape Verde qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning their qualifying group in October 2025.

Kit history

Kit manufacturer

Stadiums

Main article: Estádio da Várzea, Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde

The national team played at Estádio da Várzea in Praia, on Santiago Island. The stadium reopened in 2006 and has a capacity of 8,000.

Currently, the team plays the majority of its home matches at the Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde. The Tubarões Azuis matches have also been held at the 5,000-seat Adérito Sena Municipal Stadium in Mindelo.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

• Soueid

2025

• Semedo
• Dala
• Livramento Awarded
• H. Tavares
• Cabral
• Diney
• Livramento
• Pico
• El Maremi
• Al-Shalui
• Arcanjo
• S. Cabral
• W. Semedo
• Livramento
• W. Semedo
• Stopira
• Noorafkan
• Alipour
• Mohebi
• Ezatolahi
• Taremi
• Rodrigues
• Diney
• Moreira
• Duarte
• Arcanjo
• Rodrigues
• Marmoush
• Diney
• Monteiro
• Pina
• Mendes
• Marmoush
• Abdelmaguid
• Hamdy
• Faisal

2026

;Notes

• 1 Non FIFA 'A' international match

Coaching history

:Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• Portugal Carlos Alhinho (1985–1986)
• Portugal Óscar (1998–2003)
• Portugal Alexandre Alhinho (2003–2006)
• Cape Verde Ze Rui (2006)
• Brazil Ricardo da Rocha (2007)
• Portugal João de Deus (2008–2010)
• Cape Verde Lúcio Antunes (2010–2013)
• Portugal Rui Águas (2014–2016)
• Cape Verde Beto (2016)
• Cape Verde Lúcio Antunes (2016–2018)
• Portugal Rui Águas (2018–2019)
• Cape Verde Janito Carvalho (2019–2020)
• Cape Verde Bubista (2020–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2025 Al Ain International Cup matches against Iran and Egypt on 14 and 17 November, respectively.

Caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2025, after the match against Egypt.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Cape Verde in the last 12 months and are still eligible to represent. WD Player withdrew from the roster for non-injury related reasons.

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

PRE Preliminary squad.

SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

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Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Cape Verde at the FIFA World Cup

Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: Cape Verde at the Africa Cup of Nations

Record against other nations

As of 17 November 2025 after match against Egypt

Honours

Regional

• Amílcar Cabral Cup
  • Champions (1): 2000
  • Runners-up (1): 2007
  • Third place (1): 1995
• Lusofonia Games
  • Champions (1): 2009
  • Third place (1): 2006

Friendly

• FIFA Series (1): 2024 Saudi Arabia A

Notes

References

References

1. (2 February 2013). "Conheça as alcunhas das 16 seleções finalistas". [[A Bola]].
2. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals".
3. "Cabo Verde".
4. (13 October 2025). "Cape Verde become second-smallest nation to reach World Cup".
5. (14 October 2025). "'Biggest thing since independence' - Cape Verde celebrates World Cup spot". BBC Sport.
6. Courtney, Barry. (5 June 2006). "Cape Verde Islands – List of International matches". [[RSSSF]].
7. "Cape Verde Islands". [[FIFA]].com.
8. (21 May 2010). "Foreign contingent boost Cape Verde". [[FIFA]].
9. (24 May 2010). "Report: Portugal v Cape Verde Islands – International Friendly – ESPN Soccernet". [[ESPN]].
10. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Cape Verde Islands - Men's". Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
11. "Cape Verde Islands: Profile". [[FIFA]].
12. "Ghana vs. Cape Verde Islands 2–0". Soccerway.com.
13. "AFCON 2015 ROUND UP: Algeria, Cape Verde qualify, Zambia & Nigeria revive fortunes and Uganda suffers set back". Kawowo Sports.
14. "Rui Águas quer levar seleção à CAN2015". SAPO Desporto.
15. "Cape Verde leave it late to crush Niger". SuperSport.
16. "Cape Verde hit back to deny Tunisia". FIFA.com.
17. "Cape Verde Islands 0–0 DR Congo". BBC Sport.
18. "Afcon 2015: Group B as it happened". BBC Sport.
19. (31 March 2015). "Portugal 0 Cape Verde Islands 2". BBC Sport.
20. (8 October 2009). "Futebol: Óscar Duarte na equipa técnica dos Travadores". Sapo Noticias.
21. (5 January 2006). "Cape Verde island coach Alhinho resigns". ESPN Soccernet.
22. (3 May 2006). "Ze Rui appointed Cape Verde coach". BBC.
23. (22 November 2006). "Cape Verde confirm identity of new coach". BBC.
24. (22 November 2006). "De Deus New Cape Verde Coach". MTN Football.
25. (25 June 2010). "Soccer federation unaware of national selection coach's alleged exit". Asemana.
26. (25 July 2010). "Lúcio Antunes tapped as new national soccer team coach". Asemana.
27. (6 August 2014). "Rui Águas é o novo selecionador de Cabo Verde". DN Desporto.
28. (6 November 2025). "A Seleção Nacional disputa nesta janela de novembro um torneio em Dubai". [[Cape Verdean Football Federation]].
29. (10 November 2025). "Al Ain Internacional CUP 2025: 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰̧𝗮̃𝗼 𝗻𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼́𝗿𝗶𝗮". Cape Verdean Football Federation.
30. "Cape Verde".