Image source, FCF Image caption, Cape Verde will face Ghana, Cameroon and Mali in Group D at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
Cape Verde should not be underestimated at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) as the islanders make their tournament debut, forward Sandra Martins has warned.
The side only played their first match in 2018 and did not enter qualifiers for the 2020 Wafcon, which was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, or the 2022 finals.
But they beat Guinea 6-3 on aggregate before upsetting Mali in qualification to book their place at this year's edition in Morocco.
Cape Verde face Ghana in their Group D opener on Tuesday (17:00 GMT) before matches against Mali and Cameroon.
"I think we would do well, probably better than what people would think as new participants," Martins told BBC Sport Africa.
"We are aiming to win two games [and] possibly go into the quarter-finals.
"I think if everyone applies themselves and we really work together, we could stand a chance of going to the next stage."
Places at the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup are also on the line, with the four semi-finalists booking their tickets to Brazil.
The four losing quarter-finalists will also play off in Morocco for two spots at an intercontinental qualifier.
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The Confederation of African Football said the decision, which has drawn criticism, was taken to "ensure the success" of the tournament.
Yet Martins thinks the rescheduling could prove beneficial for Cape Verde who, at 120th in the world, are among the four lowest-ranked sides competing in North Africa.
"I think [it] was actually a blessing in disguise," Martins, 26, said.
"We were talking about it as a group and we needed more time to prepare.
"We recently played twice against Ivory Coast in friendlies and these two games were really useful for us.
"We worked on a few different things, had a few new team-mates and they blended super well into the team. Spending the extra time together has really allowed us to understand each other more on the pitch."
Image source, London Bees/Kieran Falcon Image caption, Sandra Martins has four goals in 17 appearances this season for London Bees, who play in England's fourth tier
It has been a long road to international football for Martins, who was born in Portugal to Cape Verdean parents, took up the game aged six and moved to the UK aged 15.
Her senior career has included spells at Leeds United, AFC Wimbledon, Dorking Wanderers and a stint in the USA with Charlottesville Blues before joining London Bees in July last year.
She grew up speaking Portuguese and Creole, but always hoped to represent Cape Verde on the international stage.
"The dream was there but how to get there was the part that was not so clear," she explained.
"You just take [it] season by season. Eventually I started doing well and picking up on my own performance patterns and said 'What do I need to work on?'."
After playing in a friendly tournament, Martins came to the attention of the technical director of the Cape Verdean football federation, who was looking to boost options by recruiting players from the diaspora.
Martins felt an "instant click" when she joined the squad.
"Meeting the girls for the first time, it was surprisingly very easy.
"I broke the ice and was like 'Girls, yes I speak Creole but I live abroad. I have a different twang'.
"They laughed at my accent but that was fine. They were really welcoming and we just laughed straight away."
Martins won her first international cap in the first leg of the Wafcon qualifier against Mali last October, a 1-0 defeat in Praia.
She travelled to Bamako for the second leg but missed a dramatic match through illness, with the Blue Sharks winning 4-2 after a floodlight failure in the second half.
"When the final whistle went it was amazing," she recalled.
"Everyone was euphoric, screaming how happy we were. A true sisterhood [has] formed.
"When we got back to Praia loads of locals travelled to the airport to celebrate what we had achieved."
It is a big year for football on the Atlantic Ocean archipelago after Cape Verde's men made their Fifa World Cup debut.
The team were the underdog story of the tournament, surprising most of the football world and winning hearts by reaching the last 32 and giving defending champions Argentina a scare before losing 3-2 after extra time.
Martins hopes that the country's Wafcon debut will now play its part in boosting the women's game on the islands.
"The popularity (of women's football) has definitely grown," she said. "I think we picked up a lot of momentum from the men's [qualification].
"In general, any time there's a sport event going on, the country does well in getting behind any team. On social media, everyone's being supportive.
"I hope some of them can come to watch us in Morocco, but if not I'm pretty sure that energy will come all the way across to Morocco."
Sources: BBC Sport
