Qualifying campaign: Cape Verde easily brushed aside Madagascar in the first round of the brief qualifiers, thrashing them 7-1 on aggregate to set up a decisive meeting against heavyweights Cameroon. They superbly knocked out the Indomitable Lions with a 3-2 aggregate victory to cause one of the greatest upsets of the qualifiers. History: Cape Verde have never played in any major tournament. Expectations: The Cape Verdians have made a fairytale run to the finals, becoming the smallest country (population just over 500,000) to compete at the Nations Cup and taking the scalp of the mighty Cameroon in the process. They will be a unknown quantity but face the daunting prospect of playing against hosts South Africa in the opening game on Jan. 19 in front of a partisan crowd of some 90,000. FIFA ranking: 69 (15 in Africa). Achievements: blank. Coach: Lucio Antunes (Cape Verde) Lucio Antunes has won himself near-mythical status in his homeland for guiding the Cape Verdians to the Nations Cup. The 46-year-old worked his way up through the federation ranks as a coach of the national youth teams before being appointed in 2010 to take over the senior side. He previously won the national championship with Academica Sal. Key players: Heldon (Maritimo). Age: 24 Pos: Forward Scorer of vital goals in the qualifying competition which ensured the island archipelago's progress to the Nations Cup finals. He moved to Portugal in 2007 and worked his way up through the amateur ranks to sign for Maritimo in 2010. He played and scored for the Madeira-based club in the Europa League this season. Ryan Mendes (Lille). Age: 23 Pos: Forward Pacey player who likes to run at defenders and has made a successful transition to Ligue 1 with former champions Lille from Le Havre this season. He was regarded as one of the best players in Ligue 2 over the last three seasons after Le Havre spotted him as an 18-year-old participating in a youth tournament. Fernando Varela (FC Vaslui). Age: 25 Pos: Defender Lisbon-born defender, who has been relegated twice from the top flight of Portuguese football with Trofense and Feirense. Moved to Romania at the start of the season to join an enclave of African players at FC Vaslui, who were third in the standings going into the winter break. Full squad: Goalkeepers: 1- Jozimar Dias (Progresso Sambizanga -Angola), 12- Fredson Tavares (Batuque F.C. - Cape Verde), 16- Gillian Carlos Costa (Mindelense - Cape Verde) Defenders: 23- Carlitos (AEL Limassol), 3- Fernando Varela (FC Vaslui), 14- Gege (Maritimo), 4- Guy Ramos (RKC Waalwijk), 13- Josimar (FC Dordrecht), 6- Nando (Chateauroux), 18- Nivaldo (Academica Coimbra), 19- Pecks (Gil Vicente) Midfielders: 5- Babanco (Olhanense), 22- David Silva (Olhanense), 15- Marco Soares (Omonia Nicosia), 7- Platini (Santa Clara), 17- Roni (Fola Esch), 2- Stenio (Feirense), 8- Toni Varela (Sparta Rotterdam) Forwards: 21- Djaniny (Olhanense), 10- Heldon (Maritimo), 11- Julio Tavares (Dijon), 9- Rambe (Belenenses), 20- Ryan Mendes (OSC Lille) (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at@AO Sports and on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/62056.aspx
