CJ dos Santos
Squad number 23 · San Diego FC
Their 2026 World Cup
CJ dos Santos travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Cape Verde, wearing number 23, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 4 matches (3 draws and 1 defeat) and bowed out in the round of 32, beaten by Argentina 3-2.
The goalkeeping job went to Vózinha (4 matches, 390′).
Another 3 players in the Cape Verde squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Cape Verde team page.
Biography
Carlos Joaquim Antunes dos Santos (Portuguese: [ˈkaɾ.luʒ ʒu.ɐ.ˈkĩ ɐ̃.ˈtu.nɨʒ duʃ ˈsɐ̃.tuʃ]; born 24 August 2000), known as CJ dos Santos, is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club San Diego FC. Born in the United States, he plays for the Cape Verde national team.
Club career Dos Santos began playing football at the age of two, and continued his development with local football academies Fox Chase SC, Philadelphia SC, and FC Delco before moving to Philadelphia Union in 2013. In August 2016, he signed with the academy of Benfica in Portugal. Dos Santos made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 1–1 Liga Portugal 2 draw with F.C. Porto B on 25 January 2021. On 11 February 2022, dos Santos signed with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. On 11 December 2024, dos Santos signed with Major League Soccer club San Diego FC.
International career Dos Santos was born in Philadelphia to a Cape Verdean father and a Portuguese mother from Coimbra.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Pedro Semitiel · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)