Loading World Cup 2026 Simulator
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First WC
2026
Year
Kit colours
Blue / White / Red
Cape Verde national football team
26 players called up for World Cup 2026.
Vozinha
Marcio Rosa
Cj Dos Santos
Stopira
Diney Borges
Pico Lopes
Logan Costa
Sidny Lopes Cabral
Steven Moreira
Wagner Pina
Kelvin Pires
Kevin Pina
Jovane Cabral
Joao Paulo
Jamiro Monteiro
Garry Rodrigues
Deroy Duarte
Laros Duarte
Yannick Semedo
Willy Semedo
Telmo Arcanjo
Nuno Da Costa
Helio Varela
Gilson Benchimol
Dailon Livramento
Ryan Mendes
Announced: 2026-06-22
Sources: FIFA
Cape Verde arrive at World Cup 2026 in Group H, representing CAF.
Bubista leads the tactical plan, with the group phase defining whether CPV can build momentum into the knockout rounds.
Group rivals include Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia. Every result can shift the path to the round of 32.
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, 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. 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 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 to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026, drawing 0-0 in their debut match against Spain. 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 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi) 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.
See Cape Verde fixtures and simulate their possible path to the final.
A practical way to separate obvious contenders from teams whose bracket path can become dangerous in the expanded 48-team format.
A clear overview of how national teams reach the expanded 48-team World Cup and why qualification differs by confederation.
An explanation of group-stage ranking logic, football tiebreakers, and why goal difference can decide an entire tournament path.
How group rankings become knockout slots, why paths shift, and how the simulator advances teams round by round.