By Toby TAIWO
Cape Verde say they have the quality, the heart, and the global football family behind them as they size up a seismic World Cup shock against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
The debutants will play the reigning champions in Miami on July 3, and on paper, Argentina are overwhelming favourites to saunter into the last 16.
But Cape Verde, the smallest nation to ever reach the knockout rounds, have already defied the odds in drawing with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Netherlands-born midfielder Deroy Duarte said: “Our first objective was to go to the World Cup, our second was to pass the group stage, and this is what we did.
“Everything is an honour and a reward, and we see Argentina as a game like this — another chance to make history.
“So why not? We will give everything, and then at the end of the game, we will see.”
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Cape Verde, an archipelago off the west of Africa with a population of just over 500,000, came into their maiden World Cup ranked 67th, and most people expected them to be on the first plane home.
But their success has been in the planning for a while, the country having targeted its large diaspora to recruit players.
Of the starting XI that were full value for their 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia in Houston on Friday, six were born outside the country.
Three were born in the Netherlands, and the others were from the Republic of Ireland, France, and Portugal.
Beating Argentina would go down as the biggest shock in World Cup history, but Vozinha said Cape Verde have “a big heart” — and talent to go with it.
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“Maybe for many of you the Cape Verde players are not good enough,” he told reporters.
“But we came here to show that we have a lot of quality.”
