The Cape Verde World Cup 2026 squad are one of four debutants at the tournament.
The nation is made up of a collection of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, have a population of 525,000, and are the third smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, behind Curacao and Iceland.
They have failed to make the 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, but will have their eyes set on impressing next year in Canada, Mexico and the United States at World Cup 2026, despite having one of the more inexperienced squads at the tournament.
Being such a small nation, means they come with some extraordinary stories, including that of Roberto Lopes, who was born in Ireland and plies his trade for Shamrock Rovers. He was contacted via LinkedIn and has been a regular since 2019.
They reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 edition of the African Cup of Nations, the joint best result the country has ever had.
Across their entire squad they have just one player who plays in Europe’s top five leagues, Logan Costa, who plays for Villarreal.
While unlikely, we could see Bebe of ex-Manchester United fame line up for them in Canada, Mexico and the United States. However, his last cap did come almost a year ago and he is currently playing in the third division of Spanish football.
Squad
Cape Verde World Cup 2026 squad: The November selection
- GK: Vozinha (Chaves)
- GK: Marcio Rosa (Montana)
- GK: Bruno Varela (Al-Hazem)
- DF: Stopira (Torreense)
- DF: Diney (Al Bataeh)
- DF: Ricardo Santos (Swansea City)
- DF: Kelvin Pires (SJK)
- DF: Wagner Pina (Trabzonspor)
- DF: Sidny Lopes Cabral (Estrela da Amadora)
- DF: Jojo (Vizela)
- DF: David Moreira (Sporting CP)
- MF: Kevin Pina (Krasnodar)
- MF: Joao Paulo (Otelul Galati)
- MF: Jamiro Monteiro (PEC Zwolle)
- MF: Deroy Duarte (Ludogorets Razgrad)
- MF: Laros Duarte (Puskas Akademia)
- MF: Telmo Arcanjo (Vitoria de Guimaraes)
- MF: Ailson Tavares (Beitar Jerusalem)
- FW: Dailon Livramento (Casa Pia)
- FW: Garry Rodrigues (Apollon Limassol)
- FW: Alessio da Cruz (Athletic)
- FW: Willy Semedo (Omonia)
- FW: Helio Varela (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- FW: Ryan Mendes (Igdir) (captain)
- FW: Nuno da Costa (Istanbul Basaksehir)
- FW: Heriberto Tavares (Maccabi Netanya)
Fixtures and results
November 17, 2025: Cape Verde 1–1 (0–2 p) Egypt, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
November 13, 2025: Iran 0–0 (5–4 p) Cape Verde, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
October 13, 2026: Cape Verde 3–0 Eswatini, Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde
October 8, 2026: Libya 3–3 Cape Verde, Tripoli Stadium, Tripoli, Libya
September 9, 2026: Cape Verde 1–0 Cameroon, Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde
September 4, 2026: Mauritius 0–2 Cape Verde, Cote d'Or National Sports Complex, Saint Pierre, Mauritius
June 8: Georgia 1–1 Cape Verde, Ramaz Shengelia Stadium, Kutaisi, Georgia
June 3: Malaysia 0–3 Cape Verde, Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 29: Malaysia 1–1 Cape Verde, Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
March 25, 2026: Angola 1–2 Cape Verde, Estadio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola
March 20, 2026: Cape Verde 1–0 Mauritius, Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde
Manager
Who is Cape Verde's manager?
Bubista has taken Cape Verde to three major tournaments in his time as manager since taking over in 2020.
Under his stewardship, in 2023 they reached the quarter-finals for the second time in their history.He has an impressive 48% win rate as manager.
He played 28 times for his country, captaining them on several occasions.
Star player
Who is Cape Verde's star player?
Ryan Mendes is both Cape Verde’s most capped player, and highest goalscorer of all time.
The forward is 35 and will be 36 by the time the World Cup kicks off in June, making it likely to be his only appearance at the tournament for his country.
He captains the squad as well as leading the attack, and will hoping to make the most of the opportunity to lead his nation at their first ever World Cup.
