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Tag: Cape Verde

  • AFCON 2023: South Africa edge Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties, set up semi-final clash with Super Eagles

    AFCON 2023: South Africa edge Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties, set up semi-final clash with Super Eagles

    Goalie Ronwen Williams became the hero of the night as he saved four penalties to deny Cape Verde their first ever semi -final placement at the AFCON.
    The Bafana Bafana of  South Africa defeated the Blue Sharks 2-1 on penalties to advance to the semi-final of the AFCON 2023.
    Chances were few and far between over 120 minutes at Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro, though the best fell to Cape Verde.
    Williams came to the rescue to keep out Garry Rodrigues in the 56th minute, and produced a fantastic reflex save to deny Gilson Benchimol in stoppage time.
    Vozinha produced heroics at the other end early in extra time, thwarting both Mihlali Mayambela and Evidence Makgopa as the match came down to penalties.
    Teboho Mokoena and Mothobi Mvala were successful for South Africa and although Bryan Teixeira was on target for Cape Verde, Williams denied Bebe, Willy Semedo, Laros Duarte and Patrick Andrade to send Bafana Bafana into the last four.
    The result meant that the Bafana Bafana of South Africa will play the Super Eagles of Nigeria to secure a place in the final of the competition.
  • AFCON 2023: Cape Verde pip Mauritania 1-0 to book quarter-final placement

    AFCON 2023: Cape Verde pip Mauritania 1-0 to book quarter-final placement

    The Blue sharks of Cape Verde have secured quarter-final placement at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after beating Mauritania 1-0 in a thrilling encounter on Monday.

    The encounter was heading into extra time before Mende’s clinical finish in the 88th minute separated both sides.

    The precision of the shot to the middle left the Mauritanian goalkeeper with little chance to make a save.

    Cape Verde showed superiority in the game after amassing 70% percent of ball possession in the thrilling encounter.

    Although, Cape Verde came close to breaking the tie on several occasions during the match. In the 70th minute, they capitalized on a corner kick that the Mauritanian defense failed to clear, but the goalie came to their rescue.

    The 60th minute equally saw Anne’s shot veering off to one side of the goal, prompting a response from Mauritania. However, both teams struggled to convert opportunities into goals.

    Mauritania’s most dangerous moment occurred in the 57th minute, with a free-kick sailing wide near the goal. Despite the proximity, the shot lacked the precision to pose a real threat to Cape Verde’s goalkeeper.

    The result meant the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde will slug it out with the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire in the quarter-final of the encounter.

  • AFCON 2023: Cape Verde, Egypt play 2-2, secure qualification, Ghana, Mozambique share spoils in group B

    AFCON 2023: Cape Verde, Egypt play 2-2, secure qualification, Ghana, Mozambique share spoils in group B

    Egypt managed to secure second round qualification after playing out three draws in the group B of the ongoing 2023 AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire.

    Mostafa Mohamed thought he was the hero for Egypt when he scored in stoppage time to put them 2-1 up over surprise group leaders Cape Verde, but there was more drama to come as Bryan Teixeira levelled in the 99th minute.

    Both Egypt and Cape Verde progressed to the knockout stages as Ghana surrendered two goals in 2 minutes to Mozambique in the other group B encounter.

    Egypt sneaked into the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations on a night of crazy drama in Group B.

    There were four injury-time goals across the two Group B games, with Mozambique scoring twice to draw 2-2 with Ghana.
    Results from both centers  meant a draw was enough for Egypt to finish second and qualify – but many of their players didn’t know the Ghana score and were devated when Cape Verde equalized in the 99th minute.
    Both Egypt and Cape Verde anxiously await their round of i6 opponents today, while the Black stars of Ghana will have to wait to know if they will go through as one of the best third best place teams in the tournament.
  • AFCON 2023: Blue Shark of Cape Verde humiliate Mozambique 3-0, qualify for second round

    AFCON 2023: Blue Shark of Cape Verde humiliate Mozambique 3-0, qualify for second round

    The Island nation of Cape Verde became the first team to book a place in the second round of the AFCON 2023 after defeating Mozambique by 3-0 in second group B encounter.

    Bebe scored a 40-yard free-kick as Cape Verde to open flood light of goals against the West Africans.

    The Rayo Vallecano forward, once of Manchester United, smashed in a strike which keeper Ernan Siluane should have done better with.

    Forward Kevin Pina smashed home a powerful strike into the top corner from outside the box to seal the win in Abidjan.

    Mozambique’s best moments came through Geny Catamo. He won a penalty in the first half, which was overturned by the video assistant referee (VAR), and hit the crossbar with a free-kick.

    Victory means Cape Verde have guaranteed top spot in Group B, ahead of former champions Egypt and Ghana, with a game to spare.

  • Morocco 2024: NFF praises Efih’s mental strength as girls tackle Cape Verde in Praia

    Morocco 2024: NFF praises Efih’s mental strength as girls tackle Cape Verde in Praia

    The Nigeria Football Federation has described as ‘admirable’ the mental toughness displayed by midfielder Peace Efih in helping the Super Falcons to a five-goal spanking of the senior women national team of Cape Verde in Abuja on Thursday.

     

    Efih’s biological mother breathed her last 48 hours before the 2024 Women Africa Cup of Nations final round, first leg encounter, but the player was her hard-as-nails self in defensive midfield as she paired captain Rasheedat Ajibade and petite Deborah Abiodun to supply the ammunition that dismantled the visitors at the MKO Abiola National Stadium.

     

    President of Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Musa Gusau said: “We must commend, specially, the mental strength and fortitude of Peace Efih, who lost her mother two days ago but opted to remain in camp and help the team to win well today. Hers is an example of a super patriot who will give everything for the good of the motherland.

     

    “The loss of a parent is a calamity, a thing of sadness and sorrow. Many other persons would have cracked and packed bags to leave the camp to go and mourn, but Peace decided it was better to honour her mother’s memory with a great performance that has taken the team closer to another appearance at the Women AFCON. She deserves our praise.”

     

    Efih’s toughness and productivity earned the Falcons a 5-0 win in Abuja, making Tuesday’s return leg in the island nation all but a mere formality for the nine-time champions.

  • Football enthusiasts hail Super Falcons’ 5-0 win over Cape Verde

    Football enthusiasts hail Super Falcons’ 5-0 win over Cape Verde

    Football enthusiasts in Enugu on Thursday hailed Super Falcons for defeating Cape Verde 5-0 in the first leg of the 2024 Women Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

    Uchenna Kanu and Esther Okoronkwo scored two goals each and Gift Monday completed the rout at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.

    Some football enthusiasts who spoke after the match said the team was well selected and was full of energy and zeal.

    Okey Nnamani, Coal City Babes FC coach, said results like the 5-0 against Cape Verde was what football lovers had been expecting from the national teams.

    “A result like this is what we have been expecting for a long time.

    “Home grown players deserve more chances looking at the performance of the home based players in the match.

    “We need hungry players like the home based players who always want to give thier all in order to secure greener pastures outside the country,” said Nnamani.

    He added that the hard work of the female coaches at the grassroots had started yielding result, especially looking back at the performance of the Female National team at he last female world cup.

    Director Dynamos FC of Enugu, Godwin Onwukwe, said the performance of the players sent a clear massage that the country’s female team was coming back to its golden days.

    “Our team performed wonderfully and the beauty of it all was the score line in which three home based players gave the visitors food for thought with goals.

    “There is a wide gap between the development of the female football in the country compared to male football, and that showed in the result of today’s match.

    “Super Falcons showed the transformation in grassroots female football in Nigeria and that brings to light the great work by our female football handlers in the country,” Onwukwe said.

    A player, Chidera Pius, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team, saying that the score line was respectful considering the pedigree of Nigerian team.

    “What interests me most was the clean sheet in a match where home based players were given opportunity to play,” he said.

    Pius urged Super Falcons and the coaches not to relax as the job was half done, with the second leg still to come in Cape Verde.

    Nigeria walked over São Tomé e Príncipe in the first round, while Cape Verde claimed an impressive 6-3 aggregate win over Liberia to set up the clash with the Falcons.

  • D’Tigers lose to Cape Verde, blame it on high turnover

    D’Tigers lose to Cape Verde, blame it on high turnover

    D’Tigers stand-in head coach, Alan Major, says the team must take care of the ball when they face Mali in their next game on Saturday.

    The Nigerian senior male national basketball team lost 70-79 points to Cape Verde on Friday at the on-going 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers

    The coach noted that the team’s turnover ratio and rebound efforts were responsible for the team’s loss, even though he gave credit to the team for their resilience and hard work.

    “They (Cape Verde) had 16 points from our turnovers, 11 second-chance points from 16 offensive rebounds.

    “These are some things we can clean up, but I do like the effort,” he said.

    Major, while acknowledging that D’Tigers fought back and had the lead at some point, also congratulated Cape Verde for their efforts.

    “They played well. They got a cushion on us at half-time.”

    But he did express that his players did a great job by fighting back to take the lead towards the end of the match. “In a game like this, you do not have much margin for error.”

    He said the team got scared towards the end of the game and rushed their game in a quest to restore their lead, giving their opponents the winning edge.

    “We just have to go back, watch some films, clean up some things and be ready to play tomorrow (Saturday).”

    D’Tigers, after winning the first quarter 15-14 points, lost the lead to Cape Verde in the second quarter after losing 11-25 to head into half-time with a 26-39 scoreline.

    Ikenna Ndugba and Christian Mekowulu led the scoring for D’Tigers and Uchenna Iroegbu contributed 12 points.

    Mekowulu picked 13 rebounds while Benjamin Emelogu had four.

    Chimezie Metu posted a double-double performance with 10 points and 10 rebounds, saying later that the team wanted a win but lost to a more prepared team.

    “We wanted to go out there and try to win the game. We did that for stretches of the game but Cape Verde played together. They have been together and had practised more than we have.”

    He expressed the belief that his team has what it takes to win their next two games and finish the first round strongly.

    D’Tigers now have seven points from four matches and will face Mali on Saturday.

    NAN

  • Cape Verde cage D’Tigers in 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifier opener

    Cape Verde cage D’Tigers in 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifier opener

    Nigeria’s D’Tigers on Friday opened their 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifier campaign with a defeat to Cape Verde.

    The 2015 African champions fell 71-79 to Cape Verde on Friday at the Benguela, Pavilhão Multiusos Acácias Rubras in Angola.

    The Nigerian men’s basketball team started the game on a high note with a 20-18 lead in the first quarter.

    D’Tigers, however, narrowly lost the second quarter 15-16 to Cape Verde.

    They rallied back into the game with a three-point advantage of 20-17 in the third quarter.

    The Julius Nwosu boys failed to pull their weight in the fourth quarter and ended up losing 16-28 points.

    D’Tigers will take on Mali in the second qualification game on Saturday.

    The game is scheduled to take place at 2 pm local time.

    Nigeria are in group A with Cape Verde, Mali and Uganda.

    16 African teams are competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers through five tournament windows over 15 months.

    The qualifiers run from Nov. to Feb. 2023, with five African national teams earning a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 scheduled to take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, 2023 in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

  • Nigeria v Cape Verde: Super Eagles qualify for 2022 World Cup play-offs

    Nigeria v Cape Verde: Super Eagles qualify for 2022 World Cup play-offs

    Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the play-off round of qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

    Nigeria played a 1-1 draw with Cape Verde at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos,

    The West African nation finished top of the group with 13 points, Cape Verde finished second with 10points.

    The Eagles scored in the opening minute through Victor Osimhen, after he utilised a cross from Moses Simon.

    The Eagles were pegged back about five minutes later from a Mendes Stipora goal, after he headed in from a corner-kick.

    The Eagles thereafter failed to hit the back of the net in spite of intense pressure, with Odion Ighalo failing to connect a pass from Osimhen in the 30th minute.

    The second stanza of the high intensity game was however more nervy for the Nigerian team as the visitors became more daring with a good string of passes in the Eagles’ half.

    Both teams however made substitutions in an attempt to change the course of the game, with Shehu Abdulahi coming in for the injured Moses Simon.

    Kelechi Iheanacho also came in for Ighalo, while Paul Onuachu replaced Osimhen.

  • Qatar 2022 Qualifier: ‘No pressure’ ahead Cape Verde clash – Ahmed Musa

    Qatar 2022 Qualifier: ‘No pressure’ ahead Cape Verde clash – Ahmed Musa

    Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa has assured that the Super Eagles are mature, professional, and ambitious enough to deal with any pressure when taking on the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde in Tuesday’s crucial game of Group C of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying African series.

    Nigeria lead the group C table after five matches with 12 points, Cape Verde follow closely with 10 points and that explains the importance of the encounter in Lagos.

    After a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Liberia in Tangier, the former Leicester City forward confirmed the team has the right mindset to execute tomorrow’s mission.

    “There will always be all kinds of pressure when you are out there on the football field, as a professional sportsman or woman. You just must have strong fibre to cope with the pressure from everywhere, focus on getting the result and get the job done. Pressure is never an excuse not to put out your best; sometimes, it helps you to get beyond your level best,” Musa stated.

    At a pre-match press conference earlier on Monday in Lagos, Musa who holds Nigeria’s record international appearance also said a number of players in the squad are yet to feature at the FIFA World Cup finals and that will serve as good motivation.

    “The FIFA World Cup is the biggest stage for every professional football player. They all want to be there; you don’t need any more motivation than that. We said after the match with Liberia in Tangier on Saturday that we will not be going for a draw against Cape Verde. Nothing has changed.”

    Musa also assured that the Eagles will not be complacent or underrate the Sharks but will go all out as from the blast of the whistle by Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal.