Can lightning strike twice? Cape Verde set for Wafcon debut

What the report says

BBC Sport Africa reports that Cape Verde are preparing for their first appearance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with forward Sandra Martins warning that the debutants should not be dismissed. The island nation has been drawn in Group D and is due to open against Ghana on Tuesday at 17:00 GMT, followed by matches against Mali and Cameroon in Morocco.

Cape Verde’s women’s team is relatively new at senior international level, having played its first match in 2018 and missed earlier Wafcon qualifying cycles. According to the BBC, they reached the 2026 finals by defeating Guinea 6-3 on aggregate and then eliminating Mali in qualification. Martins said the squad is targeting two wins and a possible quarter-final place, a significant ambition for a team ranked 120th in the world and among the lowest-ranked sides at the tournament.

The competition also carries Women’s World Cup implications: the four Wafcon semi-finalists will qualify for the 2027 tournament in Brazil, while losing quarter-finalists will enter play-offs for intercontinental qualifying spots. The BBC says Wafcon was postponed from March shortly before it was due to begin, a decision the Confederation of African Football said was intended to support the event’s success. Martins believes the delay helped Cape Verde prepare, including through friendlies against Ivory Coast.

Martins, born in Portugal to Cape Verdean parents and now with London Bees in England, is part of a diaspora-reinforced squad. The BBC also notes Cape Verde’s women are seeking to build on wider football enthusiasm after the men’s recent World Cup breakthrough.