Cape Verde national football team


The Cape Verde national football team, represents Cape Verde in men's international football, and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The team is nicknamed Tubarões Azuis. The national team played its first match on 19 April 1978 against [Guinea national Association football|football team|Guinea], a match they lost 1–0. 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 World Cup qualification appearance in 2003. The team is coached by Pedro Leitão Brito.
Also known as “Creoles”, 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 2013. Since then, they also appeared in the 2015, 2021 and 2023 tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals in 2013 and 2023.
Cape Verde qualified to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026. By doing so, they became the smallest country by land area and the second least populated to qualify for the World Cup, with a land area of and a population of just under 525,000 until Curaçao broke their land area and population records five weeks later when they qualified for the same tournament.
WWW fcf.cv

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, 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, South Africa and Angola.
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, 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.
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.

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.

2026

;Notes1 ''Non FIFA 'A' international match''

Coaching history

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

Most appearances

RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer
1Ryan Mendes92222010–present
2Vozinha8402012–present
3Babanco6252007–2019
4Stopira6042007–present
5Garry Rodrigues5792013–present
6Jamiro Monteiro5352016–present
7Héldon52152008–2019
7Marco Soares5232006–2021
7Fernando Varela5232008–2019
10Júlio Tavares4882012–2022

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer
1Ryan Mendes22922010–present
2Héldon15522008–2019
3Caló11271995–2007
4Garry Rodrigues9572013–present
5Júlio Tavares8482012–2022
6Lito7472002–2012
7Toni6111992–2003
7Dailon Livramento6192024–present
7Bebé6272022–present
7Djaniny6352012–present

Record against other nations

As of 17 November 2025 after match against Egypt
Opponent
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
% Win
First meeting
Last meeting
Federation
6123613−716.67%20002023CAF
211021+150%20182020UEFA
8332109+137.5%19882025CAF
110021+1100%20222022AFC
200202–20%20242024CAF
9414711–444.44%20042023CAF
92341012–222.22%20082025CAF
211032+150%20212021CAF
100112–10%20232023CAF
302123–10%20042015CAF
100101–10%20222022CONMEBOL
303147–30%20242025CAF
4400120+12100%20092024CAF
6420101+966.67%20032025CAF
110010+1100%20222022CAF
10101100%20132013CAF
9234713–622.22%19822007CAF
10101100%20252025UEFA
7304410–642.85%20012024CAF
8224610–425.00%19822020CAF
135351313038.46%19792010CAF
110010+1100%20242024CAF
10100000%20252025AFC
410323–125.00%20022015CAF
20201100%20182019CAF
640287+166.67%20002021CAF
421165+150.00%20152025CAF
110060+6100%20222022UEFA
413031+225.00%20022017UEFA
220071+6100%20122012CAF
13436715–830.76%19812011CAF
147342012+850.00%19822024CAF
440071+6100%20082025CAF
402214–30%20132023CAF
531174+360.00%20142024CAF
220062+4100%20142014CAF
302123–10%20132021CAF
311134–133.33%20062015UEFA
20200000%20202020CAF
110020+2100%20222022UEFA
202216834–2610.00%19792022CAF
13427714–730.76%19832022CAF
622266033.33%20042024CAF
420255050.00%20082018CAF
53021010060.00%20032023CAF
301226–40%20122015CAF
410313–225.00%20042018CAF
311122033.33%20142015CAF
211021+150.00%20102011CAF
Total 236885692243259–1637.44%19792025FIFA

Honours

Regional

Amílcar Cabral Cup

Friendly

FIFA Series : 2024 Saudi Arabia A