What Cape Verde is like and where it is, Argentina’s World Cup opponents | OneFootball

The Argentina National Team already knows its next obstacle in the World Cup: it is Cape Verde, the tournament’s big surprise, which will face Lionel Scaloni’s side next Friday, July 3, in the city of Miami. The African team earned the right to play at this stage after finishing second in Group H, an unprecedented achievement in which it managed to eliminate more traditional national teams such as Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, trailing only Spain.

A look at the opponent: an archipelago with history

Officially known as the Republic of Cape Verde, this small island state is made up of an archipelago of ten islands (nine of them inhabited) located in the Atlantic Ocean, about 600 kilometers off the coast of Senegal. With a population of around 525,000 inhabitants, its capital is Praia and its official language is Portuguese, a reflection of a colonial past that ended with its independence on July 5, 1975, driven by the anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral. After adopting a multiparty system in 1991, the country established itself as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, standing out globally for its tourism and musical wealth, immortalized by the celebrated singer Cesária Évora.

The feat of the “Blue Sharks”

From a strictly sporting standpoint, the team led by Pedro Leitão Brito, nicknamed “Bubista,” arrived at the World Cup as complete debutants. Far from being intimidated, the “Blue Sharks” secured their place in the knockout stage unbeaten after drawing 0-0 with Spain, 2-2 with Uruguay, and 0-0 against Saudi Arabia. With these three points, they became the least populous nation in World Cup history to advance past the group stage. The key to this success lies in a structure made up mostly of diaspora footballers born or raised in Europe (Portugal, the Netherlands, and France), which gives the squad strict tactical organization, physical intensity, and solid defensive resilience that it will now try to use to stop the world champion.

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