Nélson Cabral Semedo (born 16 November 1993) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

right wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

, whom he

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and the Portugal national team. Semedo began his career at Sintrense before joining Benfica in 2012. After spending a season on loan at Fátima, he initially appeared for Benfica B before making his first-team debut in 2015 and going on to win back-to-back

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

titles, among other honours. In July 2017, he signed with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, winning

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

in his first two seasons of a three-year stay. In September 2020, Semedo moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Semedo made his senior debut for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in October 2015 and represented the nation at the

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the tenth and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's Association football, football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, ...

, the

2019 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international Association football, football competition involving the me ...

, UEFA

Club career

Benfica

Born in Lisbon, Semedo came through the youth system at Sintrense, making his debut for the first team at age 17. On 12 January 2012, he and Manuel Liz signed five-year contracts with Benfica which were made effective on 1 July 2012. Both then spent 2012–13 Segunda Divisão, one season on loan at Fátima in the Portuguese Second Division, third division. Semedo returned to Benfica in the 2013 off-season, being assigned to the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

in the Segunda Liga and making his professional debut on 10 August in a 0–0 away draw against Trofense. After nearly 60 appearances for the reserves, he was touted as a future replacement for long-time first-team incumbent

Maxi Pereira Victorio Maximiliano "Maxi" Pereira Páez (; born 8 June 1984) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He played with Defensor in Uruguay, joining Benfica in 2007 and going on to remain with the club for eight ...

. After Pereira's departure, Semedo extended his contract until 2021 and joined the first team on their pre-season tour in North America in July 2015. On 9 August 2015, he made his debut for the main squad in the 0–1 loss against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

for the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

. A week later, he scored his first goal for them, against

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

in the

in a 4–0 home win. After establishing himself in the starting 11, Semedo suffered a setback in October 2015 when he sustained an injury while with the Portugal national team. The ailment to his right knee required surgery, with him being expected to miss two months. He returned to action in early January, but could not reproduce his previous form and lost his place to André Almeida. Semedo finished the campaign in the reserve team. In 2016–17, Semedo regained his starting position and went on to be Benfica's third-most used player in the club's historic fourth-straight league title. He scored once in the league in a 2–1 win on the road over Arouca and once in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

in a 3–3 group stage draw to

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

. In the final of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

, played on 28 May 2017, Semedo assisted

Eduardo Salvio Eduardo Antonio Salvio (born 13 July 1990) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Lanús. Salvio started his career with Lanús in 2008. After moving to Europe in 2010, he won two UEFA Europa League, with Spanish clu ...

for the second goal, with Benfica lifting the trophy after defeating

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

2–1. For his performances throughout the season, he won the Breakthrough Player of the Year award from the

Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional The Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (English: Portuguese Professional Football League), also known by its acronym LPFP, is a governing body that manages professional football club competitions in Portugal. It was founded in 1978 as Liga Po ...

Barcelona

On 13 July 2017,

announced an agreement with Benfica for Semedo's signing, pending medical tests. He signed a five-year contract the following day, with the Portuguese club receiving €30.5 million plus another potential €5 million for every 50 matches he appeared in for his new team. He made his debut on 16 August in

second leg In sports (especially association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of ...

of the

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, losing 0–2 at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

. Semedo made his Champions League debut for the club on 13 September 2017 and was praised for his performance during the 3–0 group stage win over

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. He scored his first competitive goal for the

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

– and in

– on 27 January 2019 in a 2–0 away victory against

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

. His second goal came against Alavés in a 5–0 win in the season's final match.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 23 September 2020, Semedo moved to English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

in a three-year contract (with an option of two further years) for an initial transfer fee of €30 million (approx. £27.5 million, with a potential further £9.2 million in add-ons) paid by Wolves. Semedo made his debut for Wolves and his first appearance in the Premier League in a 4–0 defeat away to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 27 September 2020. He made his debut Molineux appearance for Wolves in the team's next Premier League match, a 1–0 victory over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 4 October 2020. He scored his first Wolves goal in head coach

Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), known as Nuno Espírito Santo or simply Nuno, is a Portuguese-São Toméan Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Goalkee ...

's final game in charge, the final game of the

2020–21 Premier League The 2020–21 Premier League was the 29th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992 and the 122nd season of top-flight English football overall. The season w ...

season, a 1–2 home defeat to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 23 May 2021. Semedo suffered a hamstring injury in Wolves's game away to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the Premier League on 24 February 2022; it was subsequently evaluated that the injury would keep him from returning to action for between four and eight weeks. He had played in 23 of Wolves's 25 Premier League games in the 2021–22 season at the point he sustained this injury. Semedo ultimately returned to first-team action on 24 April 2022 in a Premier League game at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, playing the full 90 minutes plus stoppage time. On 19 May 2023, it was announced that Wolves had triggered a two-year extension clause in Semedo's contract, to keep him at the club until 2025. On 16 January 2024, Semedo scored his first goal for Wolves in two years, in a 3–2

F.A. Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competition i ...

Third Round replay victory over

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

at Molineux. His previous club goal had also come in the F.A. Cup, against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, also at Molineux, in January 2022. The goal against Brentford meant Semedo had scored more goals for Wolves in the Third Round of the F.A. Cup (two) than he had in 114 appearances in the Premier League up to 16 January 2024 (one). On 13 December 2024, Semedo was named club captain, taking over from Mario Lemina.

International career

Of Cape Verdean descent, Semedo was called-up to play for the Portugal national team on 2 October 2015 for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

matches against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. He earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

in the latter match, playing the entirety of a 2–1 win at the

Partizan Stadium The Partizan Stadium ( Serbian: Стадион Партизан / ''Stadion Partizan'') is a football and track-and-field stadium in Autokomanda, Belgrade, Serbia. The home ground of FK Partizan, it was formerly known as JNA Stadium (Stadion J ...

in Belgrade. Semedo was selected for Portugal's

squad. He played the last match of the group stage, a 4–0 win against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He also appeared in the third-place playoff against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, being sent-off in the 106th minute as his team won the bronze medal. Semedo was named in Portugal's preliminary 35-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

. However, he was not selected for Portugal's final 23-man squad for tournament. In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Qatar.

Style of play

Semedo is mainly known for his speed, ball control, dribbling and holding on the ball.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Benfica *

: 2015–16, 2016–17 *

: 2016–17 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

: 2015–16 *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Barcelona *

: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2017–18 *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Portugal *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

: 2018–19, 2024–25 *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

: Third place

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual * SJPF Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2016, 2017 * LPFP Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2016–17 *

Breakthrough XI: 2017 *

Finals Team of the Tournament:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Personal life

Semedo had two children, a daughter and a son.He loves chocolate chip ice cream.

References

External links

Profile
at the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Semedo, Nelson 1993 births Living people Footballers from Lisbon Portuguese men's footballers Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Black Portuguese sportspeople Men's association football fullbacks Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.U. Sintrense players C.D. Fátima players S.L. Benfica B players S.L. Benfica footballers La Liga players FC Barcelona players Premier League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Portugal men's international footballers 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen