| Cape Verde | |
| Badge: | Cape_Verde_FA_(2020).png |
| Badge Size: | 138px |
| Nickname: | Tubarões Azuis (Blue Sharks)[1] Crioulos (Creoles) |
| Association: | Federação Caboverdiana de Futebol (FCF) |
| Confederation: | CAF (Africa) |
| Sub-Confederation: | WAFU (West Africa) |
| Coach: | Bubista |
| Captain: | Ryan Mendes |
| Most Caps: | Ryan Mendes (79) |
| Top Scorer: | Ryan Mendes (18)[2] |
| Home Stadium: | Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde |
| Fifa Trigramme: | CPV |
| Fifa Max: | 27 |
| Fifa Max Date: | February 2014 |
| Fifa Min: | 182 |
| Fifa Min Date: | April 2000 |
| Elo Max: | 69 |
| Elo Max Date: | 31 March 2015 |
| Elo Min: | 146 |
| Elo Min Date: | August 1998 |
| Pattern La1: | _cpv22h |
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| Leftarm1: | 3957FF |
| Body1: | 3957FF |
| Rightarm1: | 3957FF |
| Shorts1: | 1e2a67 |
| Socks1: | 1e2a67 |
| Pattern La2: | _cpv22a |
| Pattern B2: | _cpv22a |
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| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFF |
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| Pattern B3: | _cpv22t |
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| Shorts3: | FF0000 |
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| First Game: | 0–1 (Guinea-Bissau; 19 April 1978) |
| Largest Win: | 7–1 (Praia, Cape Verde; 13 June 2015) 0–6 (San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain; 25 March 2022) |
| Largest Loss: | 5–1 (Mali; 12 February 1981) 0–4 (Praia, Cape Verde; 8 October 2005) 4–0 (Conakry, Guinea; 9 September 2007) 4–0 (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 14 November 2017) 5–1 (Constantine, Algeria; 12 October 2023) |
| Regional Name: | Africa Cup of Nations |
| Regional Cup Apps: | 4 |
| Regional Cup First: | 2013 |
| Regional Cup Best: | Quarter-finals (2013, 2023) |
The Cape Verde national football team (Portuguese: ; recognized as Cabo Verde by FIFA[3]) represents Cape Verde in men's international football, and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but has qualified for four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023. The team achieved their best result in 2023 after making it past the first round of the knockout stage.
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.
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 goal scorer of the qualifying campaign was Dady.
Then, finally, Cape Verde qualified for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, after stunning Cameroon 3–2 on aggregate.
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]
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 Estadio de Ebibeyin. 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]
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]
See main article: 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.
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
The following players have been selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Cameroon and Libya on 8 and 11 June 2024 respectively.[26]
Caps and goals correct as of 11 June 2024, after the match against Libya.
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 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.
Players in bold are still active with Cape Verde.
| width=30px | Rank | Player | width=50px | Caps | width=50px | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Mendes | 79 | 18 | 2010–present | |||
| 2 | Vozinha | 77 | 0 | 2012–present | |||
| 3 | Babanco | 62 | 5 | 2007–2019 | |||
| 4 | Stopira | 58 | 3 | 2007–2023 | |||
| 5 | Garry Rodrigues | 53 | 8 | 2013–present | |||
| 6 | Héldon | 52 | 15 | 2008–2019 | |||
| Marco Soares | 52 | 3 | 2006–2021 | ||||
| Fernando Varela | 52 | 3 | 2008–2019 | ||||
| 9 | Júlio Tavares | 48 | 8 | 2012–present | |||
| 10 | Lito | 47 | 7 | 2002–2012 | |||
| width=30px | Rank | Player | width=50px | Goals | width=50px | Caps | width=50px | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Mendes | 18 | 79 | 2010–present | |||||
| 2 | Héldon | 15 | 52 | 2008–2019 | |||||
| 3 | Caló | 11 | 27 | 1995–2007 | |||||
| 4 | Júlio Tavares | 8 | 48 | 2012–present | |||||
| Garry Rodrigues | 8 | 53 | 2013–present | ||||||
| 6 | Lito | 7 | 47 | 2002–2012 | |||||
| 7 | Toni | 6 | 11 | 1992–2003 | |||||
| Bebé | 6 | 23 | 2022–present | ||||||
| Djaniny | 6 | 35 | 2012–present | ||||||
| 10 | Cafú | 5 | 15 | 2003–2007 | |||||
| Gilson Tavares | 5 | 15 | 2020–present | ||||||
| Dady | 5 | 23 | 2005–2012 | ||||||
| Odaïr Fortes | 5 | 28 | 2010–2016 | ||||||
| Jamiro Monteiro | 5 | 39 | 2016–present | ||||||
| Babanco | 5 | 62 | 2007–2019 | ||||||
| FIFA World Cup | Qualification | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | ||||||||||||||
| 1930 to 1974 | Part of | Part of | ||||||||||||||
| 1978 and 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 | 6 | 13 | ||||||||||
 2022 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | ||||||||||
   2026 | To be determined | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
   2030 | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
 2034 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 18 | 6 | 20 | 46 | 56 | |||
| Titles: 0 Appearances: 4 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Squad | ||||||||
 1957 | Part of | ||||||||||
| 1959 | |||||||||||
 1962 | |||||||||||
 1963 | |||||||||||
 1965 | |||||||||||
| 1968 | |||||||||||
| 1970 | |||||||||||
 1972 | |||||||||||
 1974 | |||||||||||
| 1976 | Not a member of CAF | ||||||||||
| 1978 | |||||||||||
 1980 | |||||||||||
 1982 | |||||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||||
| 1988 | |||||||||||
 1990 | |||||||||||
 1992 | |||||||||||
| 1994 | Did not qualify | ||||||||||
| 1996 | Withdrew | ||||||||||
 1998 | Did not enter | ||||||||||
| 2000 | Did not qualify | ||||||||||
 2002 | |||||||||||
| 2004 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | |||||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||
 2010 | |||||||||||
  2012 | |||||||||||
| 2013 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Squad | ||
| 2015 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Squad | ||
| 2017 | Did not qualify | ||||||||||
| 2019 | |||||||||||
| 2021 | Round of 16 | 15th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Squad | ||
| 2023 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | |||
| 2025 | To be determined | ||||||||||
  2027 | |||||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 4/34 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 14 | 12 | — | ||