Florida [US], July 3 (ANI): Cape Verde head coach Pedro Leitao Brito has expressed confidence ahead of his side’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 clash against Argentina, saying his team will play with courage and belief as they look to secure a place in the Round of 16, according to ESPN.
Speaking ahead of the knockout encounter, Brito said his players are prepared to embrace the challenge despite facing a formidable opponent. He stressed that Cape Verde would approach the match with ambition and a positive mindset rather than focusing on the stature of the opposition.
“There’s belief and conviction, and that’s very helpful,” Brito said, as quoted by ESPN.
The Cape Verde coach said his side would aim to play fearless football while remaining disciplined throughout the contest.
“We will play with courage. We will be bold and fight for the qualification. We want the players to enjoy the match, but to be focused and do everything to go to the next phase,” he said.
Brito added that the team has complete faith in its abilities and believes it has the quality to trouble its opponents, even while acknowledging the difficulty of the challenge.
“Of course we believe. We believe in ourselves and our strengths, our players and our team. We know this will be a very difficult game, but we can hurt our opponent. We are brave and ambitious and we will play to win,” he added, as quoted by ESPN.
We as a team have our own strategy, not only against Messi but the whole team,” he said. “They are the current world champions and one of the best teams in the 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.”
Cape Verde, the smallest nation to ever progress from the group stage at a World Cup, takes on reigning champions Argentina in the round of 32 in Miami on Friday (local time).
The winner of the encounter will advance to the Round of 16 and move one step closer to lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy. (ANI)
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