This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cape Verde women's national football team.

Cape Verde
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Tubarões Azuis
(Blue Sharks)[1]
Crioulos (Creoles)
Association Federação Caboverdiana de Futebol (FCF)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach Bubista
Captain Ryan Mendes
Most caps Ryan Mendes (99)
Top scorer Ryan Mendes (22)[2]
Home stadium Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde
FIFA code CPV
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 67 Increase 2 (11 June 2026)[3]
Highest 27 (February 2014)
Lowest 182 (April 2000)
First international
 Cape Verde 0–1 Guinea 
(Guinea-Bissau; 19 April 1978)
Biggest win
 Cape Verde 7–1 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Praia, Cape Verde; 13 June 2015)
 Liechtenstein 0–6 Cape Verde 
(San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain; 25 March 2022)
Biggest defeat
 Senegal 5–1 Cape Verde 
(Mali; 12 February 1981)
 Cape Verde 0–4 Ghana 
(Praia, Cape Verde; 8 October 2005)
 Guinea 4–0 Cape Verde 
(Conakry, Guinea; 9 September 2007)
 Burkina Faso 4–0 Cape Verde 
(Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 14 November 2017)
 Algeria 5–1 Cape Verde 
(Constantine, Algeria; 12 October 2023)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 2026)
Best result To be determined
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 4 (first in 2013)
Best result Quarter-finals (2013, 2023)

The Cape Verde national football team (Portuguese: Seleção nacional de futebol de Cabo Verde; recognized as Cabo Verde by FIFA[5]) represents Cape Verde in men's international football, and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The team is nicknamed Tubarões Azuis (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. The team is coached by Pedro Leitão Brito.

Also known as "Creoles" (Portuguese: "Crioulos"), 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 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi) and a population of just under 525,000, until Curaçao broke these records five weeks later when they qualified for the same tournament.[6][7] In their opening match, they drew 0–0 against the reigning European champions Spain.

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.[8] The Cape Verdean Football Federation was formed in 1982, and joined FIFA in 1986.[9]

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.[10]

On 24 May 2010, Cape Verde played out a 0–0 draw in a friendly match against a full-strength Portugal.[11] At the time, Portugal was third in the FIFA rankings and Cape Verde were 117th.[12]

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.[13] 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.[13]

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.[10] 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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18] Facing off against Zambia on 26 January, the match ended in 0–0 draw, leaving both Cape Verde and Zambia eliminated from the Cup.[19] Contested during a tropical storm, with 26 mm (1.0 in) of rainfall, Cape Verde exited the tournament tied with DR Congo for points and undefeated, finishing behind them on goal difference.[20]

On 31 March 2015, Cape Verde won 2–0 against Portugal at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota in Estoril.[21]

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Cape Verde 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Egypt 3 0 3 0 6 6 0 3
3  Ghana 3 0 2 1 5 6 −1 2[a]
4  Mozambique 3 0 2 1 4 7 −3 2[a]
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tied on head-to-head points. Overall goal difference: Ghana −1, Mozambique −3.

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 its qualifying group in October 2025.[7]

Two players playing for the national football team of Cabo Verde

In its opening game in that tournament (Atlanta), the team held the defending champions of Europe, Spain, to an unexpectedly goalless final result, getting its first ever point, in its very first appearance in that tournament, despite the Spaniards dominating possession most of the game.[22]

Kit history

Kit manufacturer

Kit providers Period
Germany Adidas 1978–1992
France Duarig 1992–1993
Portugal Saillev 1994–2001
Portugal Tepa 2002–2007
Italy Erreà 2008–2009
Spain KS Sport 2010–2011
Germany Adidas 2012
Portugal Tepa 2013
Denmark Hummel 2014-2015
Portugal Lacatoni 2016–2017
Germany Adidas 2018–2021
Austria Tempo Sport 2022–2026
United States Capelli Sport 2026–present

Stadiums

Main articles: Estádio da Várzea and Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde

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

For all past match results of the national team, see Cape Verde national football team results and Cape Verde national football team results (2020–present).

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2025

4 September 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Mauritius  0–2  Cape Verde Saint Pierre, Mauritius
20:00 UTC+4 Report
  • Cabral 22'
  • Diney 70'
 Stadium: Côte d'Or National Sports Complex
Referee: Mohamed Diraneh Guedi (Djibouti)
9 September 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Cape Verde  1–0  Cameroon Praia, Cape Verde
  • Livramento 54'
 Report Stadium: Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde
Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana)
8 October 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Libya  3–3  Cape Verde Tripoli, Libya
15:00 UTC+2
  • Pico red-colored football 1' (o.g.)
  • El Maremi 42'
  • Al-Shalui 58'
 Report
  • Arcanjo 29'
  • S. Cabral 76'
  • W. Semedo 82'
 Stadium: Tripoli Stadium
Referee: Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)
13 October 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Cape Verde  3–0  Eswatini Praia, Cape Verde
15:00 UTC−1
  • Livramento 48'
  • W. Semedo 54'
  • Stopira 90+1'
 Report Stadium: Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde
Referee: Ahmed Arajiga (Tanzania)
13 November 2025 Al Ain International Cup semi-final Iran  0–0
(5–4 p)		  Cape Verde Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
20:00 UTC+4 Report Stadium: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium
Referee: Mohamed Al-Harmoodi (United Arab Emirates)
Penalties
  • Noorafkan football with check mark
  • Alipour football with check mark
  • Mohebi football with check mark
  • Ezatolahi football with check mark
  • Taremi football with check mark
  • football with check mark Rodrigues
  • football with check mark Diney
  • football with check mark Moreira
  • football with red X Duarte
  • football with check mark Arcanjo
17 November 2025 Al Ain International Cup third place match Cape Verde  1–1
(0–2 p)		  Egypt Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
17:00
  • Rodrigues 7' (pen.)
 Report
  • Marmoush 57'
 Stadium: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium
Attendance: 2,300
Referee: Rawdha Al Mansoori (United Arab Emirates)
Penalties
  • Diney football with red X
  • Monteiro football with red X
  • Pina football with red X
  • Mendes football with red X
  • football with red X Marmoush
  • football with check mark Abdelmaguid
  • football with check mark Hamdy
  • football with red X Faisal

2026

27 March 2026 FIFA Series Chile  4–2  Cape Verde Auckland, New Zealand
16:00 UTC+13
  • Brereton 16'
  • M. Gutiérrez 58'
  • Loyola 67'
  • Tapia 79'
 Report
  • D. Livramento 21'
  • Diney Red card 43'
  • S. Cabral 45+3'
 Stadium: Eden Park
Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)
30 March 2026 FIFA Series Cape Verde  1–1
(4–2 p)		  Finland Auckland, New Zealand
16:00 UTC+13
  • Pires 67'
 Report
  • Skyttä 45+4'
 Stadium: Eden Park
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
Penalties
  • S. Cabral football with check mark
  • J. Cabral football with red X
  • K. Pina football with check mark
  • Da Costa football with check mark
  • R. Mendes football with check mark
  • football with check mark Walta
  • football with check mark Valakari
  • football with red X Keskinen
  • football with red X Oksanen
31 May Friendly Cape Verde  3–0  Serbia Lisbon, Portugal
  • Pina 11'
  • L. Duarte 59'
  • Benchimol 63'
 Report Stadium: Estádio do Restelo
Referee: João António Gonçalves (Portugal)
6 June Friendly Cape Verde  3–0  Bermuda East Hartford, Connecticut, United States
16:00 UTC−4
  • Semedo 33'
  • Rodrigues 49'
  • Da Costa 90+1'
 Report Stadium: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field
15 June 2026 FIFA World Cup Group H Spain  0–0  Cape Verde Atlanta, Georgia, United States
12:00 UTC−4 Report Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Attendance: 67,640
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
21 June 2026 FIFA World Cup Group H Uruguay  v  Cape Verde Miami Gardens, Florida, United States
18:00 UTC−4 Report Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium
26 June 2026 FIFA World Cup Group H Cape Verde  v  Saudi Arabia Houston, Texas, United States
19:00 UTC−5 Report Stadium: NRG Stadium
TBD 2027 AFCON qualification Mali  v  Cape Verde TBD, Mali
TBD Stadium: TBD
TBD 2027 AFCON qualification Cape Verde  v  Mali TBD, Cape Verde
TBD Stadium: TBD
TBD 2027 AFCON qualification Cape Verde  v  Rwanda TBD, Cape Verde
TBD Stadium: TBD
TBD 2027 AFCON qualification Rwanda  v  Cape Verde TBD, Rwanda
TBD Stadium: TBD
TBD 2027 AFCON qualification Cape Verde  v  Liberia TBD, Cape Verde
TBD Stadium: TBD
TBD 2027 AFCON qualification Liberia  v  Cape Verde TBD, Liberia
TBD Stadium: TBD
Notes
  • 1 Non FIFA 'A' international match

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
  • Portugal Carlos Alhinho (1985–1986)
  • Portugal Óscar (1998–2003)[23]
  • Portugal Alexandre Alhinho (2003–2006)[24]
  • Cape Verde Ze Rui (2006)[25][26]
  • Brazil Ricardo da Rocha (2007)[26][27]
  • Portugal João de Deus (2008–2010)[28]
  • Cape Verde Lúcio Antunes (2010–2013)[29]
  • Portugal Rui Águas (2014–2016)[30]
  • Cape Verde Beto (2016)
  • Cape Verde Lúcio Antunes (2016–2018)
  • Portugal Rui Águas (2018–2019)
  • Cape Verde Janito Carvalho (2019–2020)
  • Cape Verde Bubista (2020–present)

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were called up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and for the pre-tournament friendly matches against Serbia on 31 May and Bermuda on 6 June 2026.[31]
Caps and goals correct as of 15 June 2026, after the match against Spain.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Vozinha (vice-captain) (1986-06-03) 3 June 1986 (age 40) 91 0 Portuguese Football Federation Chaves
12 1GK Márcio Rosa (1997-02-23) 23 February 1997 (age 29) 11 0 Bulgarian Football Union Montana
23 1GK CJ dos Santos (2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 (age 25) 1 0 United States Soccer Federation San Diego
2 2DF Stopira (1988-05-20) 20 May 1988 (age 38) 61 4 Portuguese Football Federation Torreense
3 2DF Diney (1995-01-17) 17 January 1995 (age 31) 33 2 United Arab Emirates Football Association Al Bataeh
4 2DF Pico (1992-06-17) 17 June 1992 (age 34) 46 0 Football Association of Ireland Shamrock Rovers
5 2DF Logan Costa (2001-04-01) 1 April 2001 (age 25) 28 0 Royal Spanish Football Federation Villarreal
13 2DF Sidny Lopes Cabral (2003-09-18) 18 September 2003 (age 22) 12 3 Turkish Football Federation Trabzonspor
22 2DF Steven Moreira (1994-08-13) 13 August 1994 (age 31) 21 0 United States Soccer Federation Columbus Crew
24 2DF Wagner Pina (2002-11-03) 3 November 2002 (age 23) 14 0 Turkish Football Federation Trabzonspor
25 2DF Kelvin Pires (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 26) 6 1 Football Association of Finland SJK
6 3MF Kevin Pina (1997-01-27) 27 January 1997 (age 29) 32 3 Russian Football Union Krasnodar
7 3MF Jovane Cabral (1998-06-14) 14 June 1998 (age 28) 30 3 Portuguese Football Federation Estrela Amadora
8 3MF João Paulo (1998-05-26) 26 May 1998 (age 28) 42 1 Romanian Football Federation FCSB
10 3MF Jamiro Monteiro (1993-11-23) 23 November 1993 (age 32) 56 5 Royal Dutch Football Association PEC Zwolle
11 3MF Garry Rodrigues (third captain) (1990-11-27) 27 November 1990 (age 35) 61 10 Cyprus Football Association Apollon Limassol
14 3MF Deroy Duarte (1999-07-04) 4 July 1999 (age 26) 34 0 Bulgarian Football Union Ludogorets Razgrad
15 3MF Laros Duarte (1997-02-28) 28 February 1997 (age 29) 21 1 Hungarian Football Federation Puskás Akadémia
16 3MF Yannick Semedo (1995-12-29) 29 December 1995 (age 30) 11 1 Portuguese Football Federation Farense
18 3MF Telmo Arcanjo (2001-06-21) 21 June 2001 (age 24) 17 1 Portuguese Football Federation Vitória de Guimarães
26 3MF Hélio Varela (2002-05-03) 3 May 2002 (age 24) 21 0 Israel Football Association Maccabi Tel Aviv
9 4FW Gilson Benchimol (2001-12-29) 29 December 2001 (age 24) 21 6 Russian Football Union Akron Tolyatti
17 4FW Willy Semedo (1994-04-27) 27 April 1994 (age 32) 39 3 Cyprus Football Association Omonia
19 4FW Dailon Livramento (2001-05-04) 4 May 2001 (age 25) 23 7 Portuguese Football Federation Casa Pia
20 4FW Ryan Mendes (captain) (1990-01-08) 8 January 1990 (age 36) 99 22 Turkish Football Federation Iğdır
21 4FW Nuno da Costa (1991-02-10) 10 February 1991 (age 35) 10 2 Turkish Football Federation İstanbul Başakşehir

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Cape Verde in the last 12 months and are still eligible to represent.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Bruno Varela (1994-11-04) 4 November 1994 (age 31) 8 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Hazem v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025
DF Jorginho Soares (1999-07-18) 18 July 1999 (age 26) 1 0 Bulgaria Montana v.  Finland, 30 March 2025
DF Jójó (2001-05-19) 19 May 2001 (age 25) 5 0 Portugal Vizela v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025
DF David Moreira (2004-04-18) 18 April 2004 (age 22) 3 0 Portugal Sporting B v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025
DF Ricardo Santos (1995-06-18) 18 June 1995 (age 31) 2 0 Wales Swansea City v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025
MF Jordan Mendes (2004-03-07) 7 March 2004 (age 22) 1 0 France Rodez v.  Finland, 30 March 2025
MF Ayoni Santos (2005-07-18) 18 July 2005 (age 20) 1 0 Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam v.  Finland, 30 March 2025
MF Aílson Tavares (1998-07-20) 20 July 1998 (age 27) 4 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025
FW Ieltsin Camões (1998-04-16) 16 April 1998 (age 28) 1 0 Egypt Al Ahly v.  Finland, 30 March 2025
FW Fabio Domingos (2007-10-05) 5 October 2007 (age 18) 1 0 France Paris Saint-Germain Youth v.  Finland, 30 March 2025
FW Heriberto Tavares (1997-02-19) 19 February 1997 (age 29) 6 1 Israel Maccabi Netanya v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025
FW Alessio da Cruz (1997-01-18) 18 January 1997 (age 29) 5 0 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta v.  Egypt, 17 November 2025

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

As of 15 June 2026[32]
Players in bold are still active with Cape Verde.

Most appearances

Ryan Mendes is Cape Verde's top goalscorer and their most capped player.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Ryan Mendes 99 22 2010–present
2 Vozinha 91 0 2012–present
3 Babanco 62 5 2007–2019
4 Stopira 61 4 2007–present
Garry Rodrigues 61 10 2013–present
6 Jamiro Monteiro 56 5 2016–present
7 Héldon 52 15 2008–2019
Marco Soares 52 3 2006–2021
Fernando Varela 52 3 2008–2019
10 Júlio Tavares 48 8 2012–2022

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Ryan Mendes 22 99 0.22 2010–present
2 Héldon 15 52 0.29 2008–2019
3 Caló 11 27 0.41 1995–2007
4 Garry Rodrigues 10 61 0.16 2013–present
5 Júlio Tavares 8 48 0.17 2012–2022
6 Lito 7 47 0.15 2002–2012
Dailon Livramento 7 23 0.3 2024–present
8 Toni 6 11 0.55 1992–2003
Gilson Benchimol 6 21 0.29 2020–present
Bebé 6 27 0.22 2022–present
Djaniny 6 35 0.17 2012–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Cape Verde at the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1974 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
1978 and 1982 Not a member of FIFA Not a member of FIFA
1986 to 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 2
Germany 2006 12 4 2 6 12 16
South Africa 2010 6 3 0 3 7 8
Brazil 2014 6 3 3 9 7
Russia 2018 8 3 5 6 13
Qatar 2022 6 3 2 1 8 6
Canada Mexico United States 2026 in progress 1 0 1 0 0 0 Squad 10 7 2 1 16 8
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 TBD TBD
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total: 1/10 TBD 1 0 1 0 0 0 N/a 50 23 7 20 58 60

Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: Cape Verde at the Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1957 to 1974 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
1976 to 1992 Not a member of CAF Not a member of CAF
Tunisia 1994 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 4
South Africa 1996 Withdrew Withdrew
Burkina Faso 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 3
Mali 2002 2 1 1 1 2
Tunisia 2004 6 3 0 3 9 8
Egypt 2006 12 4 2 8 11 16
Ghana 2008 6 1 2 3 3 10
Angola 2010 6 3 0 3 7 8
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012 6 3 1 2 7 7
South Africa 2013 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 2 1 3 4 Squad 4 4 0 0 10 3
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group stage 11th 3 0 3 0 1 1 Squad 6 4 2 9 6
Gabon 2017 Did not qualify 6 3 3 10 7
Egypt 2019 6 1 2 3 4 5
Cameroon 2021 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 2 4 Squad 6 2 4 0 6 3
Ivory Coast 2023 Quarter-finals 5th 5 3 2 0 8 3 Squad 6 3 1 2 8 6
Morocco 2025 Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 3 7
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027 TBD TBD
2029
Total Quarter-finals 4/35 16 5 8 3 14 12 N/a 82 33 15 34 90 95

Record against other nations

As of 15 June 2026 after match against Spain

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 % Win
 First meeting
 Last meeting
 Federation
 Algeria 6 1 2 3 6 13 −7 16.67% 2000 2023 CAF
 Andorra 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 50% 2018 2020 UEFA
 Angola 8 3 3 2 10 9 +1 37.5% 1988 2025 CAF
 Bahrain 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100% 2022 2022 AFC
 Bermuda 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100% 2026 2026 CONCACAF
 Botswana 2 0 0 2 0 2 –2 0% 2024 2024 CAF
 Burkina Faso 9 4 1 4 7 11 –4 44.44% 2004 2023 CAF
 Cameroon 9 2 3 4 10 12 –2 22.22% 2008 2025 CAF
 Central African Republic 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 50% 2021 2021 CAF
 Chile 1 0 0 1 2 4 –2 0% 2026 2026 CONMEBOL
 Comoros 1 0 0 1 1 2 –1 0% 2023 2023 CAF
 DR Congo 3 0 2 1 2 3 –1 0% 2004 2015 CAF
 Ecuador 1 0 0 1 0 1 –1 0% 2022 2022 CONMEBOL
 Egypt 3 0 3 1 4 7 –3 0% 2024 2025 CAF
 Equatorial Guinea 4 4 0 0 12 0 +12 100% 2009 2024 CAF
 Eswatini 6 4 2 0 10 1 +9 66.67% 2003 2025 CAF
 Ethiopia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100% 2022 2022 CAF
 Finland 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0% 2026 2026 UEFA
 Gabon 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0% 2013 2013 CAF
 Gambia 9 2 3 4 7 13 –6 22.22% 1982 2007 CAF
 Georgia 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0% 2025 2025 UEFA
 Ghana 7 3 0 4 4 10 –6 42.85% 2001 2024 CAF
 Guadeloupe 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100% 2022 2022 CONCACAF
 Guinea 8 2 2 4 6 10 –4 25.00% 1982 2020 CAF
 Guinea-Bissau 13 5 3 5 13 13 0 38.46% 1979 2010 CAF
 Guyana 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100% 2024 2024 CAF
 Iran 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0% 2025 2025 AFC
 Kenya 4 1 0 3 2 3 –1 25.00% 2002 2015 CAF
 Lesotho 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 0% 2018 2019 CAF
 Liberia 6 4 0 2 8 7 +1 66.67% 2000 2021 CAF
 Libya 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 50.00% 2015 2025 CAF
 Liechtenstein 1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 100% 2022 2022 UEFA
 Luxembourg 4 1 3 0 3 1 +2 25.00% 2002 2017 UEFA
 Madagascar 2 2 0 0 7 1 +6 100% 2012 2012 CAF
 Mali 13 4 3 6 7 15 –8 30.76% 1981 2011 CAF
 Mauritania 14 7 3 4 20 12 +8 50.00% 1982 2024 CAF
 Mauritius 4 4 0 0 7 1 +6 100% 2008 2025 CAF
 Morocco 4 0 2 2 1 4 –3 0% 2013 2023 CAF
 Mozambique 5 3 1 1 7 4 +3 60.00% 2014 2024 CAF
 Niger 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 100% 2014 2014 CAF
 Nigeria 3 0 2 1 2 3 –1 0% 2013 2021 CAF
 Portugal 3 1 1 1 3 4 –1 33.33% 2006 2015 UEFA
 Rwanda 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0% 2020 2020 CAF
 San Marino 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100% 2022 2022 UEFA
 Senegal 20 2 2 16 8 34 –26 10.00% 1979 2022 CAF
 Serbia 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100.00% 2026 2026 UEFA
 Sierra Leone 13 4 2 7 7 14 –7 30.76% 1983 2022 CAF
 South Africa 6 2 2 2 6 6 0 33.33% 2004 2024 CAF
 Spain 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0% 2026 2026 UEFA
 Tanzania 4 2 0 2 5 5 0 50.00% 2008 2018 CAF
 Togo 5 3 0 2 10 10 0 60.00% 2003 2023 CAF
 Tunisia 3 0 1 2 2 6 –4 0% 2012 2015 CAF
 Uganda 4 1 0 3 1 3 –2 25.00% 2004 2018 CAF
 Zambia 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 33.33% 2014 2015 CAF
 Zimbabwe 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 50.00% 2010 2011 CAF
Total (53) 241 90 58 93 253 264 –11 37.50% 1979 2026 FIFA

Honours

Regional

  • Amílcar Cabral Cup
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (1): 2000
    • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (1): 2007
    • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place (1): 1995
  • Lusofonia Games
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (1): 2009
    • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place (1): 2006

Friendly

  • FIFA Series (1): 2024 Saudi Arabia A

Notes

References

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