CAPE Verde coach Lúcio Antunes has named his 23-man selection for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, sticking largely to the group of players who had helped the team qualify for their maiden continental championship.

Antunes said he had selected the squad "for continuity" and believed that the fact that this group had been together for the past two years would benefit them in South Africa with little time to prepare for the competition.

The Cape Verdeans open their campaign against Bafana Bafana at FNB Stadium on January 19 and Antunes has now given home coach Gordon Igesund a good early look at his plans for the tournament.

The only mild surprise came in the form of reserve goalkeeper Rilly, who is the only home-based player in the selection. Otherwise it is the usual faces, with players peppered around Portugal, Netherlands, France, Angola, Cyprus and even Luxembourg in the squad. The most notable omission is that of veteran forward Lito, with some in Cape Verde questioning his absence. Antunes said: "We have the best team for each game. For this tournament, we think these are the players that can guarantee us a good championship. The stability of the group is important - we have little time to train so we chose players who know our style of play."

Antunes said his side had a plan for SA, but he was not looking too far forward into the competition. "Our goal is to prepare for the first game. We have a strategy and then we'll see about (Angola and Morocco)."