MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Cape Verde “believe” they can pull off one of the greatest World Cup upsets ever and stun Argentina, according to coach Pedro Leitao Brito.
Cape Verde, the smallest country ever to advance from the World Cup group stage, will take on defending champions Argentina in the round of 16 in Miami on Friday.
Argentina, led by talisman Lionel Messi, are the clear favourites. But the Cape Verdean coach, known as Bubista, said his team would be “brave and brave”.
“There is faith and conviction, and that is very helpful,” he said.
“We will play bravely. We will be brave and fight for qualification. We want the players to enjoy the match but be focused and do everything to get to the next stage.”
The Cape Verde boss has warned they could hurt Argentina at the World Cup. Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images
“Of course we believe. We believe in ourselves and our strengths, in our players and our team. We know it will be a very difficult game, but we can hurt our opponent. We are brave and ambitious and we will play to win.”
Messi is closing in on a tally of six goals from three World Cup games despite not starting in the final group stage match against Jordan.
He will return to the side against Cape Verde but Bubista insists his game plan will not be simply about trying to stop the 39-year-old.
“We as a team have our own strategy, not only against Messi but against the whole team,” he said.
“They are the current world champions and one of the best teams in the tournament. We will play against the whole team. We know Messi is one of the best players in the world, but we are playing against the whole team.”
Cape Verde, with a population of just 500,000, qualified from Group H after three draws with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Paraguay have already shocked Germany in the knockout stages and Bubista is convinced there will be more disappointments to come.
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“The so-called smaller teams have shown that they can compete on the same playing level as the so-called stronger teams,” he said.
“It just goes to show that smaller players can handle the toughest matches too. Argentina will be a challenge for us, but we want it to be a challenge for them too.”
“We are here on merit. In the last three matches we have shown that we can compete at a high level. We know the quality of our opponents, but we also have a dream.”