Stopira
Squad number 2 · Torreense
Their 2026 World Cup
Stopira travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Cape Verde, wearing number 2, 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.
Defence went to Diney Borges (4 matches, 390′) and Pico (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
Ianique dos Santos Tavares (Portuguese: [ja.ˈni.kɨ duʃ ˈsɐ̃.tuʃ ta.ˈva.ɾɨʃ]; born 20 May 1988), commonly known as Stopira (Kabuverdianu: [sto.ˈpi.ɾɐ]), is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga Portugal 2 club Torreense and the Cape Verde national team. He spent most of his career in Hungary with Fehérvár, having signed for the club in 2012.
Club career Stopira was born in Praia. In 2008, he signed for Portugal's Santa Clara from local side Sporting da Praia, playing just six matches in his first season but being first choice in the following as the Azores team competed in the Segunda Liga. On 10 July 2010, after a thwarted transfer to Primeira Liga club Vitória de Guimarães, Stopira signed a four-year contract with Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain, with 75% of his right being owned by IberSports. He spent his only season, however, with the reserves in the Segunda División B. Stopira joined newly promoted Feirense ahead of the 2011–12 campaign, on a one-year deal.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Effathéophile105 · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)