Sidny Lopes Cabral

Sidny Lopes Cabral
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-09-18) 18 September 2002
Place of birth Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Full-back
Team information
Current team
 Trabzonspor
Youth career
RKSV Spartaan'20
Feyenoord
2018–2020 Twente
2021–2022 Helsingborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Rot-Weiß Erfurt 49 (3)
2024–2025 Viktoria Köln 46 (1)
2025–2026 Estrela da Amadora 15 (5)
2026 Benfica 8 (1)
2026– Trabzonspor 2 (0)
International career‡
2023– Cape Verde 14 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:24, 23 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:50, 4 July 2026 (UTC)

Sidny Lopes Cabral (Portuguese: [ˈsid.ni ˈlɔ.pɨʃ kɐ.ˈbɾal]; born 18 September 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Cape Verde national team.

Early life

Lopes Cabral was born in 2002 in the Netherlands. His parents were both from Santiago, Cape Verde.[1] As a youth player, Lopes Cabral joined the youth academy of Swedish side Helsingborg. He was regarded as a bright prospect whilst playing for the club's youth team.[2]

Club career

In 2024, Lopes Cabral signed for German side Viktoria Köln. He was described as a key part of the club's newfound defensive stability.[3]

In the summer of 2025, Lopes Cabral moved to Portugal, signing a three-year contract through to 2028 with Primeira Liga club Estrela da Amadora. He became an offensive weapon for his new club in his debut season, registering five goals and providing two assists in the league, the highlight being a hat-trick scored in a game away at Casa Pia.[4]

After impressing during the first half of the season with Estrela, on 30 December 2025, Lopes Cabral joined fellow Primeira Liga side Benfica, signing a contract until June 2030 for a reported fee of €6 million, which could rise to €8.5 million with add-ons.[5][6] He made his debut on 4 January 2026, coming on as a substitute during the second half and assisting Vangelis Pavlidis for his hat-trick goal in a 3–1 league victory over Estoril at the Estádio da Luz.[7] On 25 January, Lopes Cabral scored his first goal for Benfica, the third in a 4–0 league victory over his former club Estrela da Amadora.[8]

In June 2026, Benfica agreed to transfer Lopes Cabral to Turkish club Trabzonspor for a reported fee of €10 million, with the player arriving in Turkey to complete the move.[9]

International career

Lopes Cabral was first called up to the Cape Verde national team for a friendly against Comoros in 2023.[10] He scored his first international goal on 29 May 2025, in a friendly against Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium.[11]

On 18 May 2026, Lopes Cabral was selected by Cape Verde head coach Bubista for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the nation's first ever appearance at the tournament.[12][13] In Cape Verde's round of 32 match against Argentina on 3 July, Lopes Cabral scored a second equalizing goal for his side with a curling shot in the first half of extra time.[14][15] Although Cape Verde went on to lose the match 3–2, Lopes Cabral's strike would be voted the best goal of the tournament.[16]

Style of play

Lopes Cabral mainly plays as a defender, and can operate as a left-back or right-back.

Personal life

Lopes Cabral's older brother Rodny also played for the Cape Verde national team.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 August 2026[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Rot-Weiß Erfurt 2021–22 NOFV-Oberliga Süd 112————112
2022–23 Regionalliga Nordost 231————231
2023–24 Regionalliga Nordost 150——— 3[c]0180
Total 493———30523
Viktoria Köln 2023–24 3. Liga 17000——1[d]0180
2024–25 3. Liga 291———3[d]2323
Total 46100——42503
Estrela da Amadora 2025–26 Primeira Liga 15510———165
Benfica 2025–26 Primeira Liga 8110102[e]0—121
Trabzonspor 2026–27 Süper Lig 2000—1[f]00030
Career total 120102010307213312
  1. ↑ Includes Taça de Portugal
  2. ↑ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ↑ Appearances in Thuringian Cup
  4. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Middle Rhine Cup
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 3 July 2026[11]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Cape Verde 202310
202562
202672
Total144
Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lopes Cabral goal.
List of international goals scored by Sidny Lopes Cabral
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
129 May 2025Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia1–01–1Friendly
28 October 2025Tripoli Stadium, Tripoli, Libya Libya2–33–32026 FIFA World Cup qualification
327 March 2026Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Chile2–12–42026 FIFA Series
43 July 2026Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States Argentina2–22–3 (a.e.t.)2026 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Lowe, Sid (2 July 2026). "Cape Verde's Sidny Lopes Cabral: 'If you're like "oh, it's Messi", you're gonna lose your mind'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "De 15 största talangerna i HIF: Snart kommer flera starka årgångar". gasetten.se.
  3. ↑ "Die neue Stabilität des FC Viktoria Köln". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 7 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "Sidny Cabral é reforço do Estrela da Amadora" [Sidny Cabral is a Estrela da Amadora reinforcement] (in Portuguese). C.F. Estrela da Amadora. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Lopes Cabral é reforço do Benfica!" [Lopes Cabral is a Benfica reinforcement!] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "Benfica: o valor da cláusula de rescisão de Sidny Cabral" [Benfica: Sidny Cabral's release clause value] (in Portuguese). A Bola. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Sidny e a estreia no Benfica: "Nem sei que dizer!"" [Sidny and the debut for Benfica: «I don't even know what to say!»] (in Portuguese). A Bola. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "Lopes Cabral fez primeiro golo pelo Benfica contra... o Estrela: "Foi um bocadinho estranho"" [Lopes Cabral scored first goal for Benfica against... Estrela: «It was a little bit weird»]. SAPO (in Portuguese). 25 January 2026. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Já está na Turquia a primeira venda do Benfica" (in Portuguese). A Bola. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Sidny Cabral vom FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt vor Debüt im Nationaltrikot". thueringer-allgemeine.de.
  11. 1 2 "Sidny Lopes Cabral". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Cabo Verde announce squad for historic maiden World Cup". FIFA. 18 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Bubista's Official Cabo Verde Squad For The 2026 FIFA World Cup". beIN SPORTS. 19 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Gol de Lopes Cabral hoy con Cabo Verde vs. Argentina por dieciseisavos del Mundial 2026" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 3 July 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  15. ↑ Walker-Roberts, James (4 July 2026). "An all-time great World Cup goal - Watch Sidny Cabral's 'unbelievable' strike against Argentina in thrilling last-32 game". TNT Sports.
  16. 1 2 "Lopes Cabral gem wins Goal of the Tournament". FIFA. 27 July 2026. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "Afvaller van FC Twente duikt op bij zesvoudig kampioen: 'Kippenvel'". Voetbalzone.
  18. ↑ Sidny Lopes Cabral at Soccerway
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