Cape Verde vs Serbia 31 May 2026 Prediction

Cape Verde begins its World Cup preparations with a friendly against Serbia. The nominal hosts may use this match to test different tactical ideas ahead of the tournament. But can the visitors offer enough resistance?

Cape Verde Will Play at the World Cup for the First Time

Pedro Leitao Brito, known as Bubista, has become a national hero. Under his management, Cape Verde successfully navigated qualifying and reached the World Cup. It sounds remarkable, but Cape Verde lost only 1 of its 10 matches, winning 7 of them. In the final qualifier, the team earned a convincing 3-0 home win over Eswatini. That result helped Cape Verde finish first in the standings and secure direct qualification for the World Cup.

Forward Dailon Livramento deserves a separate mention. The Casa Pia striker finished as the team’s top scorer in qualifying with four goals. Overall, though, Cape Verde does not have many star-level players in its squad.

Serbia’s Unexpected Failure

Few expected Serbia to miss the upcoming World Cup, but that is exactly what happened. The team had a poor qualifying campaign. Serbia lost away to England (0-2) in its penultimate match, which ended its mathematical chances of reaching the tournament. The team finished third, one point behind Albania. Their head-to-head meeting last year may have decided the whole group: Albania earned a surprising 1-0 away win over Serbia.

The team’s clear leader is Aleksandar Mitrovic, who plays for Al-Rayyan in Qatar. He scored nearly half of Serbia’s goals in qualifying, four of the team’s nine, but even that was not enough to reach the World Cup.

Cape Verde vs Serbia Predicted Lineup

Cape Verde (4-2-3-1): Vozinha – Joao Paulo, Borges, Lopes, Moreira – Semedo, Lenini – Jovane, Arcanjo, Mendes – Livramento

Will not play: -

Manager: Bubista

Serbia (4-2-3-1): Rajkovic – Terzic, Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Mimovic – Lukic, Gudelj – Kostic, Stankovic, Jovic – Mitrovic

Will not play: Gacinovic (injury)

Manager: Veljko Paunovic

Cape Verde vs Serbia Prediction: Cape Verde to Win at 2.75

• Main prediction: We are surprised that the odds are this close. This match does not carry major significance for Serbia. Cape Verde, meanwhile, comes into it in excellent spirits. The nominal hosts are preparing for the World Cup, so the players have every reason to make a strong impression and compete for places in the starting lineup. Their motivation is clear. Based on these factors, Cape Verde to win at 2.75 looks like a reasonable pick.
• Total goals prediction: Serbia’s defense has not looked convincing. The nominal visitors allowed at least two goals in two of their last four matches. Cape Verde, meanwhile, has shown solid attacking form, scoring two or more goals in three of its last six games. A slightly riskier option is Cape Verde team total over 1.5 at 2.89.
• Correct score prediction: That said, Cape Verde is unlikely to score more than twice. Serbia will not simply go through the motions and should be able to compete while also finding the net. Still, we expect the nominal visitors to lose by a narrow margin. The most likely scoreline looks like 2-1 at 10.60.