Cape Verde 4 & 5

 

Kevin Pina (FC Krasnodar | RUS), Deroy Duarte (Fortuna Sittard | NED) and Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers | IRE)
vs. Ghana (2:1) | AFCON | 2023 in Ivory Coast

Joao Paulo (Sheriff Tiraspol | MDA)
vs. Mauritania (1:0) | AFCON | 2023 in Ivory Coast

The 2023 AFCON was the big one for Cape Verde, so far at least. Drawn into a group of death with favourites Ghana and Egypt (and Mozambique), they ended up being the only team winning any matches in this group. Two, indeed: Thrashing Mozambique 3:0 and beating Ghana, while drawing against Egypt. That easily put them to the top of the group and meant that they would meet the ultimate minnow, Mauritania, in the first knock-out stage. They beat them, too, but sadly lost on penalties to South Africa in the quarter finals. An absolutely incredible run for the third smallest African nation, just more populous than Sao Tome and Principe and the Seychelles. Worth mentioning is also that this success was coached by Bubista, a Cape Verdean and former national team player.

Given that massive success, I just had to get the latest Cape Verde shirts still during the tournament. Luckily, Tempo is making these easily accessible via their webshop, which is where I got both for about 50€ each.