Benjamin George Cabango (born 30 May 2000) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Wales national team.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Benjamin George Cabango[1] | ||
Date of birth | 30 May 2000 | ||
Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Swansea City | ||
Number | 5 | ||
Youth career | |||
Newport County | |||
Swansea City | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018– | Swansea City | 164 | (8) |
2018–2019 | → The New Saints (loan) | 16 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2017 | Wales U17 | 1 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Wales U19 | 10 | (1) |
2019 | Wales U21 | 5 | (0) |
2020– | Wales | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:40, 20 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23.19, 19 June 2023 (UTC) |
Cabango was born in Cardiff to an Angolan father and a Welsh mother. He has a younger brother named Theo who plays rugby union for Cardiff.[2] He attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, a Welsh language comprehensive school.[3][4]
Cabango began his career as a youth player with local amateur side Maindy Corries, where his father Paolo was a coach, before joining the youth academy at Newport County,[5] where he played from under-13 to under-15 levels. He moved to the academy at Swansea City where he captained the under-19 side to win the FAW Welsh Youth Cup in 2018 and helped the under-23 side reach the final of the Premier League Cup.[3][6]
In June 2018, Cabango signed for reigning Welsh Premier League champions The New Saints on a six-month loan deal.[3] He made his senior debut for the side in a 5–0 defeat to Macedonian side KF Shkëndija in the first leg of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[7] In the return leg, Cabango scored his first senior goal as The New Saints won 4–0 but were eliminated on aggregate.[8]
On 13 August 2019, he made his professional debut for Swansea in a 3–1 victory over Northampton Town in the first round of the League Cup.[9] He made his league debut as a substitute against Huddersfield Town on 26 November 2019.[10]
Cabango made his senior Wales international debut as a second-half substitute during the team's UEFA Nations League League B match against Finland on 3 September 2020, which Wales won 1–0.[11] In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[12] In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[13]
Ben Cabango is the elder brother of professional rugby union player Theo Cabango.[14]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Swansea City | 2018–19[15] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2019–20[16] | Championship | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
2020–21[17] | Championship | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 35 | 4 | |
2021–22[18] | Championship | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 39 | 2 | ||
2022–23[19] | Championship | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 45 | 2 | ||
Total | 130 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 139 | 9 | ||
The New Saints (loan) | 2018–19[20] | Welsh Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[b] | 1 | 25 | 1 |
Career total | 146 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 164 | 10 |