Tanjung Verde Gives Warning: We Can Hurt Argentina

JAKARTA - Cape Verde believes they can create one of the biggest surprises at the 2026 World Cup when they meet Argentina in the last 32 on Saturday, July 4, 2026, morning WIB.

Cape Verde, the smallest country to ever qualify from a World Cup group stage, will face defending champions Argentina in Miami.

Argentina, led by megastar Lionel Messi, is clearly the main favorite. Moreover, Cape Verde is a World Cup debutant.

However, the coach of Tanjung Verde, Pedro Leitao Brito - known as Bubista - said his team would be brave and confident even though the favouritism was not in favour of his troops.

"There is belief and confidence and that helps a lot. We will play with courage. We will be brave and fight to qualify."

"We want the players to enjoy the game, but remain focused and do everything to advance to the next phase."

"Of course we believe. We believe in ourselves and our strength, our players, and our team. We know this will be a very difficult match, but we can make it difficult for our opponents. We are brave and ambitious. We will play to win," said Bubista.

Meanwhile, Messi entered the match against Cape Verde with six goals in three matches at the 2026 World Cup despite not being a starter in the last match of the group stage against Jordan.

He will return to the team against Cape Verde, but Bubista insists his plans for the match will not only focus on trying to stop the 39-year-old.

"We as a team have our own strategy, not only against Messi, but the whole team. They are the current world champions and one of the best teams in this tournament."

"We will play against the whole team. We know Messi is one of the best players in the world, but we play against the whole team," Bubista said.

Bubista's confidence is not without reason. Cape Verde - with a population of only 500,000 - escaped Group H without defeat, drawing three times against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.

In addition, there is an example of Paraguay who were underestimated but could beat Germany in the 32-team round. Bubista also believes that there will be more surprises to come at the 2026 World Cup.

"The so-called small teams have shown that they can compete at the same level of play as the so-called superior teams."

"This just shows that small teams can also face the most challenging matches. Argentina will be a challenge for us, but we want it to be a challenge for them too."

"We are here because of the achievements. In the last three matches, we have shown that we are capable of competing at a high level. We know the quality of our opponents, but we also have our dreams," he said.