Cape Verde announces its squad to face Mali and Rwanda

The Blue Sharks’ head coach, Humberto Bettencourt, unveiled on Friday 18 September the list of players selected for the first two matchdays of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

A total of 26 players have been called up to kick off the qualifying campaign. However, there are no major changes compared to the squad that made history at the last FIFA World Cup.

Ayoni dos Santos and Jose Tavares are the only new faces in the Blue Sharks squad. Cape Verde will begin their qualifying campaign with an away match against Mali on 25 September, before hosting Rwanda on 29 September.

The list of players called up:

Goalkeepers

• Carlos Santos
• Marcio Da Rosa
• Josimar Dias (Vozinha)

Defenders

• Logan Costa
• Kelvin Pires
• Edilson Borges
• Roberto Lopes
• Sidny Lopes Cabral
• Wagner Pina
• Steven Moreira
• João Fernandes

Midfielders

• Deroy Duarte
• Kevin Pina
• Jose Tavares
• Ayoni Santos
• Telmo Arcanjo
• Jamiro Monteiro
• Laros Duarte

Forwards

• Dailon Livramento
• Willy Semedo
• Jovane Cabral
• Ryan Mendes
• Gilson Benchimol
• Garry Rodrigues
• Hélio Varela
• Nuno Da Costa