Ryan Mendes Says Unity Powered Cape Verde’s First World Cup
ryan mendes and Cape Verde are heading to a first World Cup after a qualifying run that ended with a 3-0 win over Eswatini in October. Telmo Arcanjo says the squad’s edge was simple: unity. Spain is waiting in the opening match, and Cape Verde is arriving with a roster built across a wide diaspora.
Arcanjo’s unity message
“I believe we can surprise people once again,” Arcanjo said in an interview. “The secret is unity,” he added, and that is the clearest read on why Cape Verde got here without the profile of a traditional World Cup regular.
The midfielder was born in Portugal, one of three Portugal-born players in the squad, and he also said, “I was born and raised in Europe, but I have always been very close to Cape Verdean culture through my family. Cape Verde means representing my roots, my history and the people who came before me. It is something I carry with great pride and responsibility.”
A squad built across borders
A dozen players in Cape Verde’s squad were born in Cape Verde, while six were born in the Netherlands and three in France. Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes was born in Ireland, and goalkeeper CJ dos Santos was born in Philadelphia, which gives the team a lineup that reflects the country’s spread far beyond the islands.
Arcanjo said, “It means much more than football. Cape Verde is a small country, but it has a very strong identity and a huge diaspora spread across the world.” He added that being at a World Cup is “an opportunity to show who we are, our culture, our history and the talent of our people.”
From 1986 to Spain
Cape Verde joined FIFA in 1986 and did not enter World Cup qualifying until the start of this century. The team finished well clear of Cameroon in qualifying, then beat Eswatini 3-0 in a tense October match that secured its place at the tournament.
The result fits a broader pattern. Cape Verde were quarter-finalists in their first Africa Cup of Nations appearance in 2013 and repeated that run in early 2024, so the World Cup berth is not an isolated spike. Spain will now test whether the same compact identity that carried the team through qualifying can hold up on the sport’s biggest stage.
