{"id":6094,"date":"2026-07-02T22:08:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6094"},"modified":"2026-07-02T22:08:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:08:40","slug":"lionel-messi-and-argentina-await-cape-verde-in-the-round-of-32-at-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6094","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi trains for the World Cup soccer tournament Monday, June 29, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. \u2014 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.<\/p>

Read more Trump wants to ease rules on mailing guns. His son\u2019s company could benefit.<\/a><\/p>\n

Cape Verde has none of that.<\/p>\n

Soccer\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe we can do a great thing here,\u201d Cape Verde backup defender Ianique dos Santos Tavares, who goes by the name Stopira, said through a translator on Thursday. \u201cAnd this is no exception. This match is no exception.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cMiracle on Ice\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

This would be a Miracle on Grass, without question.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 three-time champion Argentina \u2014 against the Group H runner-up, and most people would have picked Spain or Uruguay for that spot.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s attention by playing Spain to a draw in its opening match.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is that when the draw was decided, the group that we would (have) to face … there were two world champions there,\u201d Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Paul said.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 the 5-foot-7 Goliath, so to speak \u2014 awaits.<\/p>

Read more Supreme Court declines former Fox News reporter\u2019s request to stay contempt order<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important match in our history,\u201d Cape Verde coach Bubista said. \u201cSo, 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\u2019s a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cape Verde hasn\u2019t yet won a match at this year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re even now. It\u2019s win or go home. And it\u2019s no fluke that Cape Verde is here, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not surprised, to be honest,\u201d Scaloni said. \u201cThey are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that\u2019s what we will do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019ll try to be ready for Messi, though no team in the world ever really seems to be ready for Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our own strategy, not only against Messi, but the whole team,\u201d Bubista said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell reiterates there is no animosity with star defenseman Zach Werenski<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Argentina faces Cape Verde in a World Cup match on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nLionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6094\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Argentina faces Cape Verde in a World Cup match on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6094\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T22:08:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f1079d4bd7f07b1431fa992dfecac717-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Lionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T22:08:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094\"},\"wordCount\":724,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f7516115b782a0b9004fa94aef1f0d13-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6094\",\"name\":\"Lionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup - 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