Arlington, Texas — Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni don warn im players make dem no underestimate round of 32 opponent, Cape Verde. Scaloni star-studded team go face di island nation after dem become di smallest country by population to ever reach knockout stage of men World Cup.
Cape Verde finish second for Group H behind Spain but above Saudi Arabia and two-time World Cup winners Uruguay. “Cape Verde no surprise me, because e be good team,” Scaloni tok after Argentina 3-1 win over Jordan on Saturday night. “E be tough opponent, one wey don already make things difficult for Spain, one of di favorites, as well as for Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. E be fast team with quality.”
S. Wyoming be di closest with population of 576,000. Already dem don go further dan di only smaller nations by population to reach World Cup. Curaçao and Iceland dem both eliminate after group stage for dem sole appearances for 2026 and 2018, respectively.
“We always focus on ourselves, any opponent be tough,” Guiliano Simeone tok after Argentina win over Jordan. “We get to try do maximum damage to di opponent with our best weapons.”
Lionel Messi side finish atop Group J with nine points after defeating Algeria, Austria and Jordan to conclude di first round undefeated. “We achieve di first goal, which be to advance to di next round, and now we dey go for more,” Lautaro Martínez tok. “Starting tomorrow, we go prepare for di match against Cape Verde.”
La Albiceleste go head back to dem base camp for Kansas City to train before traveling to Miami, Florida for di round of 32 match on July 3. Information from di Associated Press and ESPN Research contribute to dis report.
