Sporting winger missed World Cup dream, sat out Cape Verde rout | OneFootball

Cape Verde delivered another show of strength in preparation for their historic debut at the 2026 World Cup, beating Serbia 3-0 in a match played at the Estádio do Restelo in front of around 18,000 spectators. Bubista’s side confirmed their good form and head into the upcoming tournament full of confidence.

The match was also marked by the absence of David Moreira. The Sporting winger, who had dreamed of representing the Blue Sharks at the World Cup — which will also feature two more Lions — ultimately did not make the final squad and was not involved in this warm-up match against the Serbs.

On the pitch, Cape Verde started with determination and took the lead as early as the 11th minute. Kevin Pina took advantage of an excellent move by Ryan Mendes to finish successfully and put the Africans ahead. After the break, the Serbs tried to respond and even came close to scoring, with Randjelovic hitting the post. However, it was Cape Verde who struck again. In the 59th minute, Laros Duarte finished off a quick counterattack led by the African team and extended their lead.

Just four minutes later came the third and final goal. Sidny Cabral picked out Laros Duarte in the box, and the midfielder set up Benchimol, who made no mistake and sealed a highly convincing performance by the Blue Sharks against European opposition.

Cape Verde now face their final warm-up test against Bermuda before their first-ever appearance at the World Cup, where they will face Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in the group stage. It should be remembered that the much-coveted tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.