Cabo Verde vs Serbia Live Score — Pre-World Cup Friendly Result & Update

Cabo Verde face Serbia on Sunday, 31 May 2026, with kickoff at 4:00 PM BST / 5:00 PM CEST / 11:00 AM ET at the Estádio do Restelo in Lisbon, Portugal, on neutral ground. For the Blue Sharks, this is a historic occasion — one of only two friendlies remaining before Cabo Verde step onto the grandest stage in world football for the very first time at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Coach Bubista’s side, who topped their CAF qualifying group four points clear of Cameroon, open Group H on 15 June against reigning European champions Spain at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Serbia, who missed out on the World Cup after finishing third in UEFA Group K, travel to Lisbon under Veljko Paunović with their Nations League A campaign ahead of them. Follow this page for the Cabo Verde vs Serbia live score, goals, cards, and full match result.

Cabo Verde vs Serbia Live Score

Cabo Verde vs Serbia Match Details

This is Cabo Verde’s penultimate friendly before the World Cup — they face Bermuda next month before flying to the United States. Choosing Serbia as the opponent was deliberate: Bubista wants his squad tested by European physicality and quality before facing Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia in Group H. Serbia, placed in UEFA Nations League A Group 2 alongside Greece, Netherlands, and Germany from September, use this Lisbon occasion to continue building under new coach Paunović.

Cabo Verde vs Serbia Predicted Lineups

Confirmed lineups will be added here approximately one hour before kickoff.

Cabo Verde (Predicted): Coach Bubista is expected to test different combinations across the two halves, with one eye firmly on managing his squad ahead of the Spain opener. Captain Ryan Mendes — 36 years old, the country’s all-time top scorer with 22 goals and most capped player with 96 appearances — leads from the front and is the emotional heart of this squad. Striker Dailon Livramento (Casa Pia), the team’s top scorer in WC qualifying with four goals, is the primary attacking reference. Logan Costa (Villarreal) is the only player in the squad from Europe’s top five leagues and anchors the defence. Goalkeeper Vozinha — 39 years old and set to become one of the oldest players ever to appear at a World Cup — is likely to start. Jamiro Monteiro adds craft in midfield, with Willy Semedo and Garry Rodrigues providing wide options. The confirmed starting XI for Cabo Verde has not yet been announced. Check back closer to kickoff.

Serbia (Predicted): Coach Veljko Paunović is expected to deploy a 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1 system. Aleksandar Mitrović, who scored one of the two goals against Saudi Arabia in March, returns as the focal point of the attack. Strahinja Pavlović (AC Milan) and Nikola Milenković (Nottingham Forest) anchor the central defence. Goalkeeper Predrag Rajković (Al Ittihad) starts between the posts. In midfield, Sasa Lukić and Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla) provide structure, while Dusan Tadić and Luka Jović contribute quality in advanced positions. The confirmed starting XI for Serbia has not yet been announced. Check back closer to kickoff.

Cabo Verde Pre-Match Form

Cabo Verde arrive in Lisbon as one of the most talked-about sides heading into the World Cup — a nation of half a million people, playing their first-ever tournament game against Spain, and losing just one of their last 11 matches under Bubista.

• Drew vs Finland 1-1 (won 4-2 on pens) — FIFA Series, 30 March 2026, Auckland.
• Lost vs Chile 2-4 — FIFA Series, 27 March 2026, Auckland.
• Won vs Eswatini — WC Qualifying CAF, 2025.
• Won vs Cameroon — WC Qualifying CAF, 2025.
• Won vs Eswatini — WC Qualifying CAF, 2025.

The FIFA Series friendlies in New Zealand in March were a useful exercise. Chile — though unqualified for the World Cup — delivered a 4-2 defeat that tested Cabo Verde’s defensive resilience. Three days later, the Blue Sharks drew 1-1 with Finland and prevailed 4-2 on penalties, showing the composure and mental strength that has characterised this side throughout their remarkable qualifying campaign. Bubista’s men topped their CAF qualifying group four points ahead of Cameroon — a landmark result for a country whose domestic infrastructure is still developing.

Serbia Pre-Match Form

Serbia failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second successive tournament, finishing third in UEFA Group K behind England and a resurgent side. New coach Veljko Paunović, appointed in October 2025, recorded a first March friendly win but lost heavily to Spain in the same window.

• Won vs Saudi Arabia 2-1 — International Friendly, 31 March 2026 (Mitrović, S. Pavlović).
• Lost vs Spain 0-3 — International Friendly, 27 March 2026.
• Won vs Latvia 2-1 — WC Qualifier, 16 November 2025.
• Lost vs England 0-2 — WC Qualifier, 13 November 2025.
• Won vs Andorra 3-1 — WC Qualifier, 14 October 2025.

The Saudi Arabia win in March gave Serbia cause for optimism — Mitrović and Strahinja Pavlović both scoring in a second-half comeback from a goal behind showed the fighting spirit that Paunović wants to build his team’s identity around. The 3-0 loss to Spain in the same window, however, was a reality check. Three wins from five overall is a reasonable record, though the quality of opposition — England (twice), Albania, Spain — highlighted clear gaps between Serbia and Europe’s elite. Full form data for Serbia beyond the above was not available at time of writing.

Cabo Verde vs Serbia Head-to-Head

Cabo Verde and Serbia have never met at senior international level. This match on 31 May 2026 is the first-ever encounter between the two nations.

First-ever meeting.

With no H2H data available, the context comes from current form and squad quality. Serbia (FIFA rank 39) hold a significant ranking advantage over Cabo Verde (FIFA rank 69), but the Blue Sharks arrive with momentum, belief, and the motivation of a historic World Cup debut just 15 days away.

Cabo Verde vs Serbia Match Preview

The Estádio do Restelo in Lisbon sits in a quiet corner of one of Europe’s most footballing cities, and there is something fitting about Cabo Verde preparing for their World Cup debut in Portugal — the country whose language, culture, and diaspora so deeply shapes who the Blue Sharks are. Much of this squad plays in the Portuguese and Cypriot leagues, and many hold Portuguese nationality. This is both home and away simultaneously.

For Bubista, the Serbia test is exactly what he needs. Spain await on 15 June in Atlanta, and while nobody expects Cabo Verde to win Group H, nobody believed they would top a CAF group ahead of Cameroon either. Bubista knows his team’s strength lies in organisation, transition, and the creative connection between Mendes, Livramento, and Jamiro Monteiro. Against Serbia’s physicality and Mitrović’s aerial threat, those qualities will be tested in a way the FIFA Series against Chile and Finland could not fully replicate.

For Paunović, Lisbon is a chance to extend the positive feelings from the Saudi Arabia win and continue embedding his ideas before Nations League A begins. Serbia — in the same Nations League tier as Netherlands, Germany, and Greece — need to improve defensively after conceding three against Spain. This Cabo Verde test, facing a compact, counter-attacking World Cup side, is both more and less demanding than it might appear on paper. A result here would be a good confidence marker.

Cabo Verde vs Serbia Match Report

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Frequently Asked Questions

Cabo Verde vs Serbia at the Estádio do Restelo is one of the most atmospheric pre-tournament stories of the entire window — the Blue Sharks, just 15 days from their World Cup debut against Spain, going face-to-face with European opposition one final time before the dream begins in Atlanta. For the full schedule of pre-World Cup friendlies 2026, bookmark our dedicated hub.

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