Cape Verde compete in Group Eight of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Record:
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First World Cup appearance
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FIFA ranking: 69
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Nickname: The Blue Sharks
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Top clubs: Mindelense, Sporting Clube da Praia, Boavista
Qualification: Showing great resilience at home — four wins and one draw — Cape Verde put together an impressive African qualifying campaign, losing only once in ten matches and topping their group ahead of the more established Cameroon and Angola.
Coach: Former defender Pedro Leitão Brito, known as "Bubista," gained experience in the Spanish and Portuguese leagues as well as in Angola, before spending the bulk of his coaching career in Cape Verde. He served as assistant to the national team on several occasions before taking the head coaching role in 2020, guiding them to the AFCON 2023 quarter-finals and then achieving the landmark of reaching the 2026 World Cup.
Star player: Alongside experienced captain and winger Ryan Mendes (36) — who previously played in the UAE and continues his career in Turkey — Cape Verde rely on commanding defender Lógan Costa, one of the few Cape Verdean players active in a major European league. The former Toulouse player established himself at Villarreal, which he joined in 2024, completing a full first season in La Liga (32 matches). However, the 25-year-old centre-back suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last summer and has featured only rarely this season, despite being named in Bubista's World Cup squad.
Ambitions: As one of the tournament's minnows, the draw placed them in a demanding group where reaching the round of 16 looks difficult behind fancied Spain and Uruguay. But Cape Verde have already defied expectations in qualifying, outperforming more internationally experienced nations such as Cameroon.