No goal celebrations: Custodio Mendes on Argentina v Cape Verde, «torn» | OneFootball

Adriano Tomás Custodio Mendes weighed in on the historic clash between Argentina and Cape Verde in the 2026 World Cup round of 32, a match that will be played this Friday, July 3, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The former midfielder, known for being the first African footballer to play in official AFA tournaments, admitted that he has mixed feelings ahead of the knockout match.

“My heart is split. I know where I come from, where I was born, what my roots are. Obviously Argentina gave me everything, everything, but I’m not going to betray my blood either,” Mendes confessed in an interview with Olé. The former player added that he will experience the match without fanaticism and took a firm stance: “I’m not going to celebrate a goal by Cape Verde or Argentina.”

Bilardo’s memory and Africa’s present

Estudiantes de La Plata left a lasting mark on Mendes’s career, where he won the 1983 Nacional Tournament and made 53 official appearances before wearing the shirts of Temperley, Colón, San Martín de Tucumán, and Chacarita. Patricio Hernández, whom he considers “a brother,” described him on TN as a footballer who was “left-footed, good in the air, intelligent, and street-smart.”

When analyzing the current state of the national team coached by Bubista, the former footballer recalled a historic phrase from Carlos Salvador Bilardo to explain the evolution of his homeland. “It’s like Bilardo said many years ago: ‘Africa will one day become a powerhouse,’ and I think today it is,” he said on ESPN, where he also noted that many of the players who shone in the Portuguese league were born in Cape Verde, expressing enormous happiness over this unique achievement.

The pain over Miguel Ángel Russo’s passing

Mendes also took a moment to express his sadness over the recent death of Miguel Ángel Russo, with whom he shared the championship-winning squad at Pincha. “Of course what happened to Russo hurts, I’ve known him for many years. It hurt me to see him in recent times in the condition he was in”, he lamented bluntly. Despite the loss, the former midfielder chose to remember the former coach with a smile and an anecdote that sums up the camaraderie that existed in that group: “He was the only teammate I had at Estudiantes who never kicked me in training.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.