Kevin Pina (footballer)
Cape Verdean footballer (born 1997)
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Kevin Lenini Gonçalves Pereira de Pina (Portuguese: [ˈkɛ.vin le.ˈni.ni ɡõ.ˈsal.vɨʃ pɨ.ˈɾej.ɾɐ dɨ ˈpi.nɐ]; born 27 January 1997) is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Russian club Krasnodar and the Cape Verde national team.
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Pina with Krasnodar in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Lenini Gonçalves Pereira de Pina | ||
| Date of birth | 27 January 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Praia, Cape Verde | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Krasnodar | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tchadense | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Oliveirense | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Anadia (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Sertanense (loan) | 31 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Chaves B | 25 | (2) |
| 2020–2022 | Chaves | 39 | (1) |
| 2022– | Krasnodar | 86 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Cape Verde U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2022– | Cape Verde | 34 | (4) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 June 2026 | |||
Club career
A youth product of the Cape Verdean team Tchadense, Pina made his professional debut with Oliveirense in a 3–2 LigaPro loss to Benfica B on 13 January 2018.[2] He shortly after went on loan to Anadia and Sertanense, before transferring to Chaves in 2019.[3]
On 8 September 2022, Pina signed a three-year contract with the Russian Premier League club Krasnodar.[4] On 16 July 2024, he extended his contract to June 2027.[5]
International career
Pina was called up to represent the Cape Verde national team for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in September 2021.[6] He debuted with Cape Verde in a 6–0 friendly win over Liechtenstein on 25 March 2022.[7]
In December 2023, Pina was named in Cape Verde's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.[8] He was in the starting line-up for Cape Verde's opening match against Ghana, as the Tubarões Azuis defeated the four-time African champions 2–1.[9] In the team's second match, he scored the final goal of a 3–0 win over Mozambique which qualified Cape Verde for the knockout stage of the competition.[10]
Pina became the first player in Cape Verde's history to score at a FIFA World Cup, netting the nation's first-ever World Cup goal against Uruguay at the 2026 edition.[11] He also earned the Man of the Match award for his performance.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 24 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Oliveirense | 2017–18 | Liga Portugal 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Anadia | 2017–18 | Campeonato de Portugal | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Sertanense | 2018–19 | Campeonato de Portugal | 31 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 33 | 3 | |
| Chaves B | 2019–20 | Campeonato de Portugal | 25 | 2 | — | — | 25 | 2 | ||
| Chaves | 2020–21 | Liga Portugal 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| Krasnodar | 2022–23 | Russian Premier League | 15 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | |
| 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 34 | 4 | |
| 2025–26 | Russian Premier League | 27 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| Total | 86 | 6 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 188 | 11 | 33 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 227 | 14 | ||
- Includes Taça de Portugal, Russian Cup
- Appearances in Taça da Liga
- Two appearances in the promotion play-offs, one appearance in Taça da Liga
- Appearance in Russian Super Cup
International
- As of match played 26 June 2026[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Verde | 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 6 | 2 | |
| Total | 34 | 4 | |
- As of match played 21 June 2026. Cape Verde's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Pina goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 September 2023 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo | 5 |  Togo | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 19 January 2024 | Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 8 |  Mozambique | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3 | 31 May 2026 | Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal | 31 |  Serbia | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 21 June 2026 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States | 33 |  Uruguay | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup |
Honours
Krasnodar