Argentina will be heavy favorites when they face World Cup debutants Cape Verde in their round of 32 match on Friday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
But Argentine boss Lionel Scaloni says meeting their African foes at this stage, instead of Uruguay or Saudi Arabia as some predicted, is far from a shock.
“We’ve already watched them, not just because we are playing against them, but because we were analyzing potential opponents (earlier on),” Scaloni said via an interpreter. “And then they qualified. And we are not surprised, to be honest.
“They are a good team, and they are not here by chance. We must respect them, and that’s what we will do.”
So far, La Albiceleste have done pretty well at that, defeating all three of their group opponents by multiple goals. And at age 39, Lionel Messi is having arguably the best individual World Cup of his storied career.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner already has six goals, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappe for the tournament lead, and he’s currently the World Cup leader with 19 all-time, having passed Germany’s Miroslav Klose with his brace against Austria. Mbappe is right on Messi’s heels with 18 all-time.
If there was any temptation to overlook an unfancied opponent like Cape Verde — the smallest nation by population ever to reach the knockout phase — it is tempered by the knowledge that one bad performance could mean the end of Messi’s World Cup career.
“We have no idea about how many matches we might have to play,” said Messi’s international and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul. “It’s not good to think this way. For me, the main thing is to enjoy Leo Messi every single day, just as every Argentinian citizen.
“Of course, we always value those things more that we don’t have anymore. That’s part of life. But we are all enjoying having him around. And of course, we need to always remember our main goal is tomorrow’s match.”
Cape Verde drew all three of their group matches, including an attention-grabbing defensive performance in a 0-0 tie with tournament favorites Spain and a 2-2 result against Uruguay, another South American power.
Those showings have endeared the island nation off Africa’s Atlantic coast to the world, and they’ve reinforced the confidence of their manager — who goes by the singular name Bubista — in his tactical approach against more heralded opponents.
“We, as a team, have our own strategy, not only against Messi, but the whole team,” Bubista said through an interpreter. “We know they are the current world champions, one of the best teams in the tournament. And we will play against the whole team. We know Messi is one of the best players in the world. But we will play organized and against the whole team.”
Veteran fullback Stopira says his team’s business remains unfinished. It’s a group that does not want to be broken up by the force of a tournament-ending defeat.
“We are always united as a team,” Stopira said via an interpreter. “We play with each other in the dressing room, and we are very united as we always have been. And today even more, because we are getting closer to the most important match in our history.
“So we are being responsible and also trying to enjoy the match. We did not reach the stage by chance. It was our own merit. And we want to show the world our qualities, our values. And there’s a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football.”
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
