Cabo Verde football team holds final home training before World Cup

The Cape Verde national team staged its last public training session on May 23 in Santa Cruz, Santiago, before departing for a pre‑World Cup camp in Portugal. Hundreds of fans, children and locals gathered at the municipal stadium amid music and vuvuzelas, cheering the squad known as the Blue Sharks. Coach Pedro Leitão Brito, affectionately called “Bubista,” and captain Ryan Mendes expressed excitement, with Mendes saying he was “impatient” for the tournament. The team will play a friendly against Serbia in Lisbon on May 31 and then travel to North America for the 2026 World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Group H, Cape Verde will face Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, marking a historic appearance for one of the smallest nations ever to qualify.