The head coach of Cape Verde senior national team, Pedro Leitao has named his 26-man squad less than CAF’s limit of 28 players for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) slated for Cameroon in January 2022.
Cape Verde’s squad is only composed of foreign-based players, with reserve goalkeeper Keven Ramos, who plays for Mindelese the only member of the squad who represents a club in Cape Verde. The notable absentees are Zé Luís, Lokomotiv Moscow forward, who is usually a regular in the Cape Verdean team.
The ‘Blue Sharks’ are appearing for the third time after reaching the quarter-finals on their debut in 2013 and playing again two years later. In their last appearance in Equatorial Guinea 2015, they crumbled in the group stage that boasted Tunisia, DR Congo and Zambia.
The Sharks will start preparations on 26 December at home, before flying to Morocco where they will face the Atlas Lions in a friendly on 31 December.
They will compete in Group A beside hosts Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.
MOLATsportgist 