Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Expresso das Ilhas
Published on 2024-03-26 08:59:12
The Cape Verdean national football team closed their participation in the FIFA Series tournament today with a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea, in a match held at the Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The only goal of the game was scored in the 64th minute by Jovane Cabral, taking advantage of an excellent pass from Kevin Pina. Throughout the 90 minutes, Cape Verde had more possession of the ball, but aside from the goal, the most dangerous chances belonged to the opposing team.
Equatorial Guinea, coming off a 2-0 victory over Cambodia, is currently ranked 79th in the FIFA rankings and reached the round of 16 in the last Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2023), where they were eliminated by Guinea-Conakry.
In their debut match on Thursday, Cape Verde defeated Guyana 1-0, in a game where the Cape Verdean players lacked efficiency in finishing. In this tournament, the national team coach, Bubista, called up 23 players and handed three debuts, namely full-backs Wagner Pina (Estoril Praia – Portugal) and Jojó (Paços de Ferreira – Portugal), as well as Dailon Livramento (MVV – Netherlands).
Left-back Léla (Académica do Mindelo), the only locally-based player in the squad, did not leave the bench in either of the two games played. After the FIFA Series, the Cape Verde national team will return to competition next June to face Cameroon and Libya in the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The competition, promoted by the world football governing body, takes place from March 21 to 26 in Saudi Arabia, with Cape Verde sharing the group with the national teams of Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, and Guyana. The FIFA Series is a global strategy of FIFA, in its 2023-2027 horizon, to support federations in organizing friendly matches involving national teams from different confederations, in one country, with the aim of providing federations the opportunity to face national teams from other continents and commercial opportunities.
Cape Verde Line-up: Josimar Dias ‘Vozinha’ (GK), Jojó, Pico, Logan Costa, Patrick Andrade, João Paulo Fernandes, Jovane Cabral, Deroy Duarte, Kevin Pina, Ryan Mendes (C), and Carlos Fortes. Substitutes: Dailon Nascimento, Hélio Varela, Diogo Mendes, and Wagner Pina. Coach: Pedro Brito “Bubista”.
Read the original article(Portuguese) on Expresso das Ilhas
