Crew defender Steven Moreira to join Cape Verde for Africa Cup of Nations

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Less than a month after the Columbus Crew won the MLS Cup title, one of its key defenders is already preparing to play more soccer.

Steven Moreira has been named to the final roster for the Cape Verde national team for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament. After representing France at the youth level, Moreira, whose parents are from Cape Verde, switched his international eligibility to the Blue Sharks and is set to play for them in a major tournament.

Moreira is fresh off a successful 2023 season with the Black & Gold where he was named the team’s defensive player of the year. He played in 34 regular season games and all six MLS Cup Playoff matches that culminated in the Crew’s championship victory over LAFC 2-1 at Lower.com Field.

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Now, Moreira will be with Cape Verde for the Africa Cup of Nations, the premier international tournament in the continent. The month-long affair will begin on Jan. 13 and take place in the Ivory Coast. Cape Verde is in a difficult group alongside contenders Egypt, regulars Ghana, and upstarts Mozambique.

The Blue Sharks open the tournament against Ghana on Jan. 14 and will follow that with its match against Mozambique on Jan. 19. Cape Verde’s final group match will be on Jan. 22 against Egypt. With AFCON being a 24-team tournament, the top-two teams in each of the six groups along with the four best third-place teams qualify for the knockout phase.

AFCON’s opening game on Jan. 13 features the hosts Ivory Coast against Guinea-Bissau. The defending champions are Senegal, who are in a group with Cameroon, Guinea, and the Gambia.

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Ivory Coast	Egypt	Senegal	Algeria
Nigeria	Ghana	Cameroon	Burkina Faso
Equatorial Guinea	Cape Verde	Guinea	Mauritania
Guinea-Bissau	Mozambique	Gambia	Angola

Group E	Group F
Tunisia	Morocco
Mali	DR Congo
South Africa	Zambia
Namibia	Tanzania

Moreira will return to Columbus after the tournament and get ready for the club’s opening game on Feb. 24 against Atlanta United.

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