Cape Verde say they can beat Argentina, and the path to the title opens

Cape Verde's assistant coach: how they plan to handle Messi

Your next opponent has a plan for Messi. Cape Verde assistant Humberto Bettencourt spoke about it ahead of Friday's round of 16 match: "We consider Messi a very special player, but we always look at the collective" (1). The key word is collective. Cape Verde will not man-mark him, they will try to cut off his supply lines and force Argentina to find other routes (1). Whether that works against a player who has spent two decades solving exactly that kind of problem is another question.

Cape Verde's president: "We're going to win"

Mário Avelino is not here to play tourist. The Cape Verde FA president told the BBC: "I think Cape Verde can beat Argentina 1–0," and followed it with "We are going to win" (2). That is the quote echoing through the Argentina press this morning. No fear, no deference, just a small-island nation daring to say it out loud before the biggest match in their history (2).

Germany are out, and the path is clearer

Germany fell to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 16. A supercomputer model recalibrated after that result now has Argentina as the outright favorite for the title (3). Beat Cape Verde on Friday, and a likely quarterfinal against the winner of Australia versus Egypt awaits. The bracket is opening up.

Fan reactions

Argentina fans are reacting to Cape Verde's confidence with a mix of amusement and respect. The president's BBC interview, "I think Cape Verde can beat Argentina 1–0", hit the r/worldcup subreddit and is being passed around as the quote of the round so far. See the full thread here.