Cape Verde Calls Up Gianni Dos Santos

Pacific FC forward Gianni Dos Santos has earned a national team call-up from Cape Verde in the midst of a sharp run of form.

The Dutch-born Cape Verdean has made 29 appearances for Pacific FC since arriving in 2021, contributing two goals and two assists – one of which helped set up the club’s title-winning goal last season.

Having already joined the national team in Miami, he’s set to participate in a friendly match against Ecuador tonight at 8:00PM EST.

The Rotterdam-born forward made twenty appearances for the Tridents last season en route to his North Star Shield win, and his momentum hasn’t slowed down since re-signing with the team this year: he’s been deployed all across the front line for a Pacific side that has sunk many an opposition defense.

Dos Santos has featured in nine of eleven possible matches for Pacific FC this season, with the fast-footed attacker scoring one of our goals of the season against Valour last month:

Dos Santos began his career with FC Dordrecht in 2017 before transitioning to Sparta Rotterdam as a youth prospect the following season. Returning to Dordrecht after that, he was described as a ‘diamond in the rough’ by head coach Harry van den Ham and scored four goals in 17 appearances before Pacific took a chance on the Dutch-Cape Verdean dual national.

This month saw Cape Verde open its African Cup Of Nationals qualifying campaign with mixed results, with the Blue Sharks losing out 2-0 to to Burkina Faso before besting Togo 2-0. Should Dos Santos leave an impression in tonight’s friendly, he might return to national team duties this September for back-to-back qualification bouts against Eswatini.

Gianni had actually been called up by Cape Verde while still with Sparta Rotterdam in 2020, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic stalled those matches significantly. With Dos Santos presently in good form for the reigning CPL champions, it looks like head coach Bubista is keen to see what he can bring to the national team.

While the last time Dos Santos stepped on Tim Hortons Field saw him hoist the North Star Shield, he will miss Pacific’s away trip to Forge this weekend as a result of his international call-up.