The Cape Verde national football team (), recognised as Cabo Verde () by FIFA, represents Cape Verde in men's international football, and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. Nicknamed Blue Sharks ( in Portuguese), the national team played its first match on 19 April 1978 against Guinea, a match they lost 0–1. Following the federation's affiliation with the Confederation of African Football and FIFA in 1982, the national team entered Africa Cup of Nations qualification for the first time in 1992 and made its first FIFA World Cup qualification appearance in 2003. Cape Verde plays the majority of its home matches at the Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde. They qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2013. Since then, they also appeared in the 2015, 2021 and 2023 tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals in 2013 and 2023.
Cape Verde qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026, becoming the smallest country by land area and the second least populated (after Iceland) to qualify for the World Cup, with a land area of and a population of just under 525,000, until Curaçao broke both records just five weeks later by qualifying for the same tournament. In the group stage, they finished second with three draws: 0–0 against the reigning European champions Spain, 2–2 with Uruguay, and 0–0 with Saudi Arabia. Cape Verde qualified for the knockout rounds and were eliminated in a 3–2 loss to defending champions Argentina after extra time.
History Early 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 4 September 2009, Cape Verde faced Malta in a friendly, resulting in a 2–0 victory.
2010s
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.
Then 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 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. 2020s: Rapid rise and World Cup qualification 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.
2026 FIFA World Cup
Cape Verde qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning its qualifying group in October 2025. In its opening game, the team held future World Cup champion Spain to a goalless draw, exceeding expectations and earning Cape Verde its first ever point. As Spain was ranked significantly higher than Cape Verde, the draw brought attention to all of the team's players, with the team's goalkeeper, Vozinha, gaining almost 30 million followers on social media platform Instagram. In its second match, the team tied Uruguay 2–2, scoring its first World Cup goals, and once again, exceeding expectations. With a third (0–0) draw against Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde finished undefeated and as runners-up in its group.
Cape Verde faced the defending champions Argentina in the Round of 32, holding them to a 1–1 score after the regulatory 90-minute period before going on to lose 3–2 in extra time. The team's performance at the World Cup almost instantly became highly regarded as one of the biggest underdog stories in World Cup history, and the match with Argentina as one of the greatest individual World Cup games of all time. Vozinha was voted into the Dream XI all-star team, while Sidny Lopes Cabral's equalizing goal against Argentina was named the Goal of the Tournament.
Kit history
Kit manufacturer Kit providers Period Adidas 1978–1992 Duarig 1992–1993 Saillev 1994–2001 Tepa 2002–2007 Erreà 2008–2009 KS Sport 2010–2011 Adidas 2012 Tepa 2013 Hummel 2014–2015 Lacatoni 2016–2017 Adidas 2018–2021 Tempo Sport 2022–2026 Capelli Sport 2026–present
Stadiums
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.
2025
2026
2027
Coaching history Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
Carlos Alhinho (1985–1986) Óscar (1998–2003) Alexandre Alhinho (2003–2006) Ze Rui (2006) Ricardo da Rocha (2007) João de Deus (2008–2010) Lúcio Antunes (2010–2013) Rui Águas (2014–2016) Beto (2016) Lúcio Antunes (2016–2018) Rui Águas (2018–2019) Janito Carvalho (2019–2020) Bubista (2020–2026) Humberto Bettencourt (2026–present)
Players Current squad The following 26 players were called up to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Mali and Rwanda on 25 and 29 September 2026, respectively. Caps and goals correct as of 29 September 2026, after the match against Rwanda.
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 and statistics
Players in bold are still active with Cape Verde.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer1Ryan Mendes104222010–present2Vozinha9602012–present3Garry Rodrigues65102013–present4Babanco6252007–20195Jamiro Monteiro6152016–presentStopira6142007–present7Héldon52152008–2019Marco Soares5232006–2021Fernando Varela5232008–201910Pico Lopes5002019–present
Top goalscorers RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Ryan Mendes221042010–present2Héldon15522008–20193Caló11271995–20074Garry Rodrigues10652013–present5Júlio Tavares8482012–20226Gilson Benchimol7262020–presentDailon Livramento7262024–present Lito7472002–20129Toni6111992–2003Bebé6272022–presentDjaniny6352012–2020
Other records and statistics Cape Verde players sent off (8 times): Janicio Gomes v DR Congo, 4 September 2005 (91st minute) Kay v Morocco, 29 March 2016 (53rd minute) Hélder v Lesotho, 9 September 2018 (87th minute) Patrick Andrade v Senegal, 25 January 2022 (21st minute) Vozinha v Senegal, 25 January 2022 (57th minute) Steeve Furtado v Comoros, 17 October 2023 (45th minute) Kevin Pina v Mauritania, 19 November 2024 (60th minute) Diney Borges v Chile, 27 March 2026 (43rd minute) Opponent players sent off (7 times): Lounes Gaouaoui for Algeria, 2 June 2007 (26th minute) Alex Song for Cameroon, 6 September 2008 (90th minute) Andre Pinto for Portugal, 31 March 2015 (60th minute) Eric Mathoho for South Africa, 1 September 2017 (68th minute) Ally Niyonzima for Rwanda, 17 November 2020 (29th minute) Yared Bayeh for Ethiopia, 9 January 2022 (12th minute) Hamad Al Shamsan for Bahrain, 23 September 2022 (77th minute) First match played: v Guinea, 29 April 1978