Preview: Mauritius vs Cape Verde - prediction, team news, lineups

Mauritius will welcome Cape Verde to Stade George V stadium when they trade tackles in round seven of their Group D 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

The hosts are fifth in the standings with five points from six matches, while the visiting side have accumulated 13 from the same number of games.

Match preview

Mauritius have had a dismal World Cup qualifying campaign so far, having managed to win only one of their six previous fixtures, with other results being two draws and three losses.

In their last outing, the Dodos came back twice to force a 3-3 stalemate against bottom-placed Eswatini, a result which leaves them second from bottom.

With a few games to go in the series, the Islanders are running out of time to salvage their chances of finishing in the top two in their group.

Recent results have not been encouraging, with four draws in their last four fixtures across all competitions, leaving them with a difficult task for the rest of the campaign.

Worse still, the hosts have struggled in front of goal, recording only three goals, which came in one fixture in that run, incidentally, their last outing in the World Cup qualification encounter against fellow strugglers Eswatini.

Elsewhere, Cape Verde will enter this encounter in high spirits, having claimed three consecutive victories in this group.

The Cape Verdeans claimed back-to-back 1-0 victories over Libya and Mauritius and a 2-1 win on the road against Angola in their last outing in March.

Although they are at the top of the standings with 13 points, Cameroon are breathing down their necks, only one point adrift of the visitors.

That said, the Blue Sharks must emerge victorious on Thursday to maintain their position at the top of the standings, considering that Cameroon have an easy fixture against Eswatini.

Nevertheless, Bubista’s men will enter this fixture in a confident mood, considering that they won the reverse fixture 1-0.

In addition to that, they remain unbeaten in their last five fixtures, winning three and recording two draws in a run they will be looking to extend.

Mauritius World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Mauritius form (all competitions):

Cape Verde World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Cape Verde form (all competitions):

Team News

For the hosts, the experienced goalkeeper and captain, Kevin Jean-Louis, is expected to lead the team out on Thursday.

In midfield, Adel Langue, William Francois and Yannick Aristide are likely to form the midfield trio for the Mauritians.

Meanwhile, Cape Verde have called up a strong squad ahead of this fixture, which includes matches against Mauritius and Cameroon in this window.

Dailon Livramento, who came off the bench to find the back of the net twice in their last World Cup qualifier against Angola, is in the squad, and he could be listed in the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper Vozinha is also expected to maintain his position between the sticks, with Roberto Lopes and David Moreira to form the defensive shield right in front of him.

Nevertheless, they will be without Ryan Mendes, who is out of contention due to a knock he is currently battling.

Mauritius possible starting lineup:

Jean-Louis; Citorah, Collard, Rose, Latouchent; Aristide, Langue, W. Francois; Ferre, A. Francois, Legrand

Cape Verde possible starting lineup:

Vozinha; Pina, Borges, Moreira, Fernandes; Duarte; Montero, Semedo, Rodrigues, Tavares; Livramento

We say: Mauritius 0-2 Cape Verde

The Blue Sharks are undoubtedly the favourites to claim all three points and further strengthen their chances of booking their place at the 2026 World Cup.

The visitors have demonstrated their effectiveness and are up against a struggling Mauritian side, that have shipped 10 goals in this qualification campaign. Going by that, we are backing the visitors to record a 2-0 win on Thursday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.