Cape Verde : Creating An Identity

The Blue Sharks of Cape Verde are on a good footing when it comes to creating an identity for themselves on the continental stage. They will be taking part in their fourth Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire next year. The team booked their place in the competition finishing second in the Group B qualifiers with 10 points, one below first-placed Burkina Faso. They were pooled in Group B of the Côte d’Ivoire event alongside Mozambique, Ghana and Egypt.
Cape Verde first played in a major tournament in 2013, reaching the final phase of the continental Africa Cup of Nations by shockingly eliminating its second-most successful team, Cameroon, in the qualifying round. Drawn in Group A of the main event against Morocco, South Africa, and Angola, all previous World Cuppers, Cape Verde advanced to the knockouts on debut with two draws and a win. The victory against Angola on the final day of the group stage, however, was their last in the tournament, as they exited the competition in the quarters following a defeat against Ghana.
Cape Verde signaled their intent to scale the African footballing pyramid by qualifying for their second successive AFCON finals in 2015. Contrary to their maiden attempt in 2013, the team could not go beyond the group phase. They had to wait until the 2021 edition to take part in another AFCON after missing out on two editions. The increased number of par...