Cape Verde face Argentina with 1% odds and nothing to lose

Friday: you face Messi and the world champions

This is real. Cape Verde step onto the World Cup knockout stage Friday, July 3, against Argentina (1) (5). The reigning champions. Messi, Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, the whole machine (1). Your team made it here from the group stage, and nobody outside the islands saw it coming.

Cabral: 'We showed how big 1% is'

Sidny Lopes Cabral put it perfectly. The odds gave Cape Verde a 1% chance of reaching this round, and the squad just laughed. "When we saw 1%, we just laughed... They gave us a 1% chance of reaching the next round, but we showed how big 1% is" (2). That is the mood in camp. Defiant, loose, no fear.

He wants Otamendi's shirt, not Messi's

Cabral knows exactly who he is swapping with after the final whistle, and it is not who you would guess. "Messi? Não, não. Vou trocar minha camisa com o Otamendi. Ele foi meu companheiro de equipe até esta temporada", Messi? No, no. I'm swapping my shirt with Otamendi. He was my teammate until this season (4). The two played together at club level. A small, human detail that says a lot about this squad.

Low block, counter, believe

Tactically, your team knows exactly what it is. Cape Verde will sit deep, stay compact, and break on the counter (3). The same blueprint they used against Spain (3). Nothing fancy. Nothing naive. Just a clear plan and 90 minutes to execute it.