MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Argentina has the World Cup titles, arguably the best player of all-time in Lionel Messi, the rich history and a roster filled with stars.
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Cape Verde has none of that.
Soccer’s version of David vs. Goliath happens Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium, where defending World Cup champion Argentina faces a Cape Verde squad with absolutely no burden of expectations going into the round of 32 match.
“I believe we can do a great thing here,” Cape Verde backup defender Ianique dos Santos Tavares, who goes by the name Stopira, said through a translator on Thursday. “And this is no exception. This match is no exception.”
A win by Cape Verde would be one of the most stunning upsets in soccer history, maybe even sports history. Think of it on a “Miracle on Ice” scale from 1980, when the youthful U.S. hockey team stunned the supposedly unbeatable Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Olympics and went on to win the gold medal.
This would be a Miracle on Grass, without question.
The Argentines mean no disrespect when they say this, but when the draw for the tournament came out they thought Spain or Uruguay would be waiting for them in this round. It was going to be the Group J winner — three-time champion Argentina — against the Group H runner-up, and most people would have picked Spain or Uruguay for that spot.
Enter Cape Verde, the tiny island nation with a 40-year-old goalkeeper, the tale of how his mother needed help to get to the U.S. to watch some of the group stage, and how one of the longest long shots in the tournament grabbed everyone’s attention by playing Spain to a draw in its opening match.
“The truth is that when the draw was decided, the group that we would (have) to face … there were two world champions there,” Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Paul said.
Spain, the 2010 champion, got through the group stage. Uruguay, a two-time World Cup winner, did not. Cape Verde did, and a showdown with Messi — the 5-foot-7 Goliath, so to speak — awaits.
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“The most important match in our history,” Cape Verde coach Bubista said. “So, we are being responsible and also trying to enjoy the match. We did not reach this stage by chance. It was on our own merits and we want to show the world our qualities, our values and that there’s a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football.”
Cape Verde hasn’t yet won a match at this year’s World Cup, making it the only team to reach the round of 32 without a victory. It had three draws in the group stage; Argentina won all three of its matches, with Messi starring in each of them.
They’re even now. It’s win or go home. And it’s no fluke that Cape Verde is here, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.
“We are not surprised, to be honest,” Scaloni said. “They are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that’s what we will do.”
Cape Verde insists it has a plan for Friday night. It wants to be aggressive on set pieces. It wants to try to control possession as much as possible. It will rely on a defense that yielded only two goals in three group matches and kept Spain scoreless.
And it’ll try to be ready for Messi, though no team in the world ever really seems to be ready for Messi.
“We have our own strategy, not only against Messi, but the whole team,” Bubista said. “We know they are the current world champions, one of the best teams in the tournament. And we will play against the whole team, not just Messi.”
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