Cape Verde Islands 3-0 Bermuda, the scoreboard that Bubista wanted as warm-up evidence before Spain next week. The coach kept faith with his core group and got clean execution: patience in the first half, pace after the break, ruthless close.
The early pattern was clear enough. Cape Verde leveraged their wide options, with Willy Semedo stretching the Bermudian back line and Garry Rodrigues sliding inside to find space between the lines. Control meant little without a finish, so Semedo scored in the 33rd minute, putting his side in front and easing any pre-World Cup nerves.
Discipline frayed for the visitors. Bermuda collected yellow cards in the 22nd minute, again in the 44th minute, then in first-half stoppage time. Cape Verde picked up a caution of their own in that 44th-minute spell, but the pattern showed where the pressure was coming from: M. Findlay’s team chasing shadows and tugging shirts to stay in reach.
The restart brought the decisive break. Rodrigues, comfortable as inverted winger and orchestrator, made it 2-0 in the 49th minute. From there Bubista could rotate tempo, keeping the ball and forcing Bermuda to run. The visitors earned a final caution in the 81st minute for another late challenge, confirmation of legs gone and ideas spent.
Nuno da Costa arrived to underline the gap, scoring in the first minute of stoppage time. That late strike mattered less for the friendly than for the internal hierarchy: da Costa positioning himself as the change-of-pace forward Bubista can trust if Spain’s defence locks down the flanks.
M. Findlay leaves with more questions than answers. Bermuda never found a reliable exit, the midfield unable to break the first line, and four bookings add to the sense of strain. Cape Verde, meanwhile, travel with calm authority. Spain on 15 June will be a very different assignment, but the rhythm is there. For more on how other World Cup hopefuls are shaping up, see England vs New Zealand.
Key facts
- Final score: Cape Verde Islands 3-0 Bermuda
- Goals: Willy Semedo 33', Garry Rodrigues 49', Nuno da Costa 90+1'
- Cape Verde yellow cards: 44'
- Bermuda yellow cards: 22', 44', 45+1', 81'
