Introduction
Jovane Eduardo Borges Cabral (born 14 June 1998) is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Cape Verde national team.
Club career
Born in Assomada, Sotavento Islands, Cabral joined Sporting CP's youth academy at the age of 16 from Grémio Nhagar. On 20 August 2016 he made his senior debut with the reserve side, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute in a 2–4 home loss against Fafe in the LigaPro. His first goal in the competition came on 19 March 2017, netting through a free kick in a 2–1 away victory over Leixões. Still that year, he helped the juniors win the national championship.
Cabral was called by first-team manager Jorge Jesus for the 2017 pre-season, but eventually returned to the B team. He made his competitive debut for the former on 12 October, replacing Mattheus Oliveira for the final 12 minutes of the 4–2 victory at Oleiros in the third round of the Taça de Portugal.
Cabral scored his first official goal for Sporting on 1 September 2018, his 88th-minute strike earning the hosts a 1–0 Primeira Liga home win against Feirense. On 3 December, in what was new manager Marcel Keizer's first match in charge, he netted through a 20-meter curl to close the score in a 3–1 defeat of Rio Ave at the Estádio dos Arcos; the goal was later named as the best of the season at the annual awards ceremony.
In June 2020, after the season resumed following the COVID-19 shutdown, Cabral scored four goals over three consecutive games. This concluded with two in a 3–1 win at B-SAD on 26 June, when he was replaced injured at half-time; he was named the league's Player of the Month.
On 19 January 2021, after having replaced fellow youth graduate Tiago Tomás late into the second half, Cabral scored twice to help his team come from behind and beat Porto 2–1 in the semi-finals of the Taça da Liga. One year later, he was loaned to Italian Serie A club Lazio with an option to buy. He made his debut for the latter on 17 February, playing ten minutes in the 2–1 away loss against Porto in the knockout play-offs of the UEFA Europa League. He totalled four games for the Romans, scoring in a 3–3 home draw with Verona on 21 May in the last fixture of the campaign.
Cabral was supposed to join Real Valladolid on loan in the January 2023 transfer window, but the deal fell through due to bureaucratic reasons. On 24 August, also on loan, he signed for one season with Italian top-flight Salernitana, with a buying option reported to be around €3.5 million.
On 1 February 2024, Cabral's loan was cancelled. Hours later, Sporting loaned him to Super League Greece club Olympiacos until the end of the campaign, with a reported €3 million buying option.
International career
Cabral won his first cap for Cape Verde on 28 March 2017, in a 2–0 friendly win over Luxembourg. However, in October 2018 he announced he was applying for Portuguese nationality and that he intended to represent its national team.
On 23 March 2022, five years after his debut, Cabral scored his first goal, in the 2–0 friendly defeat of Guadeloupe in Orléans, France.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 7 April 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP B | 2016–17 | LigaPro | 20 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | LigaPro | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| Sporting CP | 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 30 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | |
| 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 3 | |
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 72 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 105 | 21 | ||
| Lazio (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| Salernitana (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | |||
| Olympiacos (loan) | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 125 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 160 | 26 | ||
International
- As of match played 11 June 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Verde | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 1 | |
| Total | 14 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cabral goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 March 2022 | Stade de la Source, Orléans, France |  Guadeloupe | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 26 March 2024 | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |  Equatorial Guinea | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Sporting CP
- Primeira Liga: 2020–21
- Taça de Portugal: 2018–19
- Taça da Liga: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2021
Individual
- Primeira Liga Goal of the Season: 2018–19