In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Lopes and the second or paternal family name is Cabral.
Sidny Lopes Cabral
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-09-18) 18 September 2002 (age 23)
Place of birth Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Full-back
Team information
Current team
Trabzonspor
Youth career
RKSV Spartaan'20
Feyenoord
2018–2020 Twente
2021–2022 Helsingborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Rot-Weiß Erfurt 49 (3)
2024–2025 Viktoria Köln 46 (1)
2025–2026 Estrela da Amadora 15 (5)
2026 Benfica 8 (1)
2026– Trabzonspor 0 (0)
International career‡
2023– Cape Verde 14 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:24, 23 March 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:50, 4 July 2026 (UTC)

Sidny Lopes Cabral ( Portuguese: [ˈsid.ni ˈlɔ.pɨʃ kɐ.ˈbɾal]; born 18 September 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Cape Verde national team.

Early life

Cabral was born in 2002 in the Netherlands. His parents were both from Santiago, Cape Verde.[1] As a youth player, Cabral joined the youth academy of Swedish side Helsingborg. He was regarded as a bright prospect whilst playing for the club's youth team.[2]

Club career

In 2024, Cabral signed for German side Viktoria Köln. He was described as a key part of the club's newfound defensive stability.[3]

In the summer of 2025, Cabral moved to Portugal, signing a three-year contract through to 2028 with Primeira Liga club Estrela da Amadora. Cabral became an offensive weapon for his new club in his debut season, registering five goals and providing two assists in the league, the highlight being a hat-trick scored in a game away at Casa Pia.[4]

After impressing during the first half of the season with Estrela, on 30 December 2025, Cabral joined fellow Primeira Liga side Benfica, signing a contract until June 2030 for a reported fee of €6 million, which could rise to €8.5 million with add-ons.[5][6] He made his debut on 4 January 2026, coming on as a substitute during the second half and assisting Vangelis Pavlidis for his hat-trick goal in a 3–1 league victory over Estoril at the Estádio da Luz.[7] On 25 January, Cabral scored his first goal for Benfica, the third in a 4–0 league victory over his former club Estrela da Amadora.[8]

In June 2026, Benfica agreed to transfer Sidny Cabral to Turkish club Trabzonspor for a reported fee of €10 million, with the player arriving in Turkey to complete the move.[9]

International career

He was first called up to the Cape Verde national team for a friendly against Comoros in 2023.[10] Cabral scored his first international goal on 29 May 2025 in a friendly against Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium.[11]

On 18 May 2026, Cabral was called up by Cape Verde's head coach Bubista for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[12][13] In the Round of 32 match against Argentina, Cabral scored the equalizing goal with a curling shot in the first half of extra time in a match that ended in a 3–2 defeat, which was considered one of the best goals of the tournament.[14][15][16]

Style of play

Cabral mainly operates as a defender. He can operate as a left-back or right-back.

Personal life

Cabral's older brother, Rodny Lopes Cabral, also plays for the Cape Verde national team.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 March 2026[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rot-Weiß Erfurt 2021–22 NOFV-Oberliga Süd 11 2 — — — — 11 2
2022–23 Regionalliga Nordost 23 1 — — — — 23 1
2023–24 Regionalliga Nordost 15 0 — — — 3[c] 0 18 0
Total 49 3 — — — 3 0 52 3
Viktoria Köln 2023–24 3. Liga 17 0 0 0 — — 1[d] 0 18 0
2024–25 3. Liga 29 1 — — — 3[d] 2 32 3
Total 46 1 0 0 — — 4 2 50 3
Estrela da Amadora 2025–26 Primeira Liga 15 5 1 0 — — — 16 5
Benfica 2025–26 Primeira Liga 8 1 1 0 1 0 2[e] 0 — 12 1
Trabzonspor 2026–27 Süper Lig 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 118 10 2 0 1 0 2 0 7 2 130 12
  1. ^ Includes Taça de Portugal
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Appearances in Thuringian Cup
  4. ^ a b Appearances in Middle Rhine Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 3 July 2026[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cape Verde 2023 1 0
2025 6 2
2026 7 2
Total 14 4
Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cabral goal.
List of international goals scored by Sidny Lopes Cabral
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 29 May 2025 Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Malaysia 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2 8 October 2025 Tripoli Stadium, Tripoli, Libya  Libya 2–3 3–3 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 27 March 2026 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand  Chile 2–1 2–4 2026 FIFA Series
4 3 July 2026 Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States  Argentina 2–2 2–3 (a.e.t.) 2026 FIFA World Cup

References

  1. ^ Lowe, Sid (2 July 2026). "Cape Verde's Sidny Lopes Cabral: 'If you're like "oh, it's Messi", you're gonna lose your mind'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  2. ^ "De 15 största talangerna i HIF: Snart kommer flera starka årgångar". gasetten.se.
  3. ^ "Die neue Stabilität des FC Viktoria Köln". ksta.de.
  4. ^ "Sidny Cabral é reforço do Estrela da Amadora" [Sidny Cabral is a Estrela da Amadora reinforcement] (in European Portuguese). Estrela da Amadora. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Lopes Cabral é reforço do Benfica!" [Lopes Cabral is a Benfica reinforcement!] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Benfica: o valor da cláusula de rescisão de Sidny Cabral" [Benfica: Sidny Cabral's release clause value] (in Portuguese). A Bola. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Sidny e a estreia no Benfica: "Nem sei que dizer!"" [Sidny and the debut for Benfica: «I don't even know what to say!»]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 3 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Lopes Cabral fez primeiro golo pelo Benfica contra... o Estrela: "Foi um bocadinho estranho"" [Lopes Cabral scored first goal for Benfica against... Estrela: «It was a little bit weird»]. SAPO (in Portuguese). 25 January 2026. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Já está na Turquia a primeira venda do Benfica". A Bola (in Portuguese). 3 June 2026. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  10. ^ "Sidny Cabral vom FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt vor Debüt im Nationaltrikot". thueringer-allgemeine.de.
  11. ^ Sidny Lopes Cabral at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  12. ^ "Cabo Verde announce squad for historic maiden World Cup". FIFA. 18 May 2026.
  13. ^ "Bubista's Official Cabo Verde Squad For The 2026 FIFA World Cup". beIN SPORTS. 19 May 2026.
  14. ^ "El golazo y alocado festejo de Sidny Lopes para Cabo Verde contra la Selección Argentina" (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 3 July 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  15. ^ "Gol de Lopes Cabral hoy con Cabo Verde vs. Argentina por dieciseisavos del Mundial 2026" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 3 July 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  16. ^ Walker-Roberts, James (4 July 2026). "An all-time great World Cup goal - Watch Sidny Cabral's 'unbelievable' strike against Argentina in thrilling last-32 game". TNT Sports.
  17. ^ "Afvaller van FC Twente duikt op bij zesvoudig kampioen: 'Kippenvel'". voetbalzone.nl.
  18. ^ Sidny Lopes Cabral at Soccerway
  19. ^ "Sidny Lopes Cabral". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 October 2025.