Cape Verde’s World Cup Dream: “Project LinkedIn”
The “Blue Sharks” of Cape Verde — a small island nation in the Atlantic Ocean, located west of the African continent — have qualified for the World Cup for the first time this year. They did not qualify through a play-in match or as one of the best second-place finishers, but instead finished at the top of their group, ahead of teams such as Cameroon, Angola, and Libya.
For those who do not closely follow African football, it can be difficult to understand why this achievement is such a big deal. Cape Verde has a population of around 530,000 people, making it one of the smallest countries ever to qualify for the World Cup. Because of this, the national federation had to be creative in finding players willing and eligible to represent the country.
In recent years, FIFA has allowed players with parents or grandparents from other nations to represent those countries under certain conditions, if they choose to do so. Examples of this rule can be found around the world, such as Brahim Díaz, who was born in Spain but represents Morocco internationally, or Kevin-Prince Boateng, who chose to play for Ghana.
Cape Verde’s federation took advantage of this rule, and actively reached out to potential players with strong Cape Verdean backgrounds who were not currently tied to a national team — or had little chance of breaking into one — through LinkedIn, and recruited them to the national team. Yes, the professional networking website most commonly used for careers in accounting, finance, engineering, and other industries helped Cape Verde build a national team almost from scratch.
The most significant tale was the recruitment of the Irish-born defender Roberto Pico Lopes. Lopes has played at the Junior levels of Ireland, but never received a call to the senior team, and almost gave up his hopes until he received a message in Portuguese through an old LinkedIn account he opened in college, and the rest is history. And like him, many other players who represent Cape Verde were immigrants from other countries. The defenders Logan Costa and David Moreira were originally born in France, and the forward Dailon Livramento is Dutch.
The story of the national team is a microcosmic example to Cape Verde’s story as a country. The nickname of the national team is “The Blue Sharks”, given to them due to their location in the Atlantic Ocean, and the biodiversity that characterizes the 15 islands of Cape Verde, mainly by sharks.
Diving back in the pages of history, one will find that Cape Verde was an important Portuguese colony at the prime of the Portuguese empire, through which Portugal shipped to Europe gold, ivory, rum, and sadly, slaves too, which in turn led to the prosperity of both Cape Verde and Portugal. After a long colonization under the dysfunctional Portuguese regime, Cape Verde gained independence in 1975, and since then has been one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa.
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For many years, the diaspora of Cape Verde supported their homeland through bidões — barrels filled with food, clothes, phones — or through remittances. These gestures helped the small nation sustain families and built houses through tough and difficult times, and in 2025, the diaspora reshaped the national soccer team and helped the country get a spot in the 2026 World Cup.
Despite the tough draw of the World Cup group stage, with Spain (the number one favorites to take it all), Uruguay (two-time world champions), and Saudi Arabia (one of the strongest teams in Asia), Cape Verde can be a surprising and refreshing team in this year’s tournament for several reasons.
Firstly, the national team of Cape Verde is built of both young talent and experienced players, and almost all of them are playing outside of Cape Verde, mainly across Europe and the MLS. Some notable names are the long-serving captain, Ryan Mendes, who is also the top scorer of Cape Verde and their most capped player. Moreover, the center of the defense is occupied by Logan Costa, the central back for Villarreal. At the front end of the field, you should pay attention to Nuno da Costa, who plays for Başakşehir, and Leonardo Andrade, who plays for Qarabag FK.
Secondly, this talented group of players has been coached by Bubista, a former player who has coached the national team in the last six years, and led the team to its highest achievements both in Africa and the World Cup. For its qualification to the World Cup, Bubista received the 2025 coach of the year in Africa. All of that, added with the excitement of the first appearance, can lead to a Cinderella story that no one knows where it will end.
By: Ronen Bangiev
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Craig Foy – SNS Group