Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said his side must respect a resilient Cabo Verde when the defending champion faces the World Cup debutant in the round of 32 at Miami Stadium.
MIAMI — Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said his side must respect a resilient Cabo Verde when the defending champion faces the World Cup debutant in the round of 32 at Miami Stadium.
Argentina advanced as Group J winner with three wins, scoring eight goals and conceding just one. Cabo Verde, runner-up in Group H behind Spain, reached the knockout stage without a defeat after drawing 0-0 with Spain, 2-2 with Uruguay and 0-0 with Saudi Arabia.
"We are excited like everyone else, but there is an opponent that we have to face, we have to respect, an opponent that has done very well," Scaloni told a pre-match press conference, reports Xinhua. "The margin is now narrowing. I think it's not going to be easy. That's the reality," he added.
Scaloni highlighted Cabo Verde's defensive organisation and counterattacking threat, dismissing any suggestion the African side is at the tournament by chance.
"It is a team that has not lost. Even in some matches they deserved more - against Saudi Arabia I think they deserved to win. Against Spain and Uruguay maybe they suffered a little more, but they defended well," said the 48-year-old.
"They block the interior pass well and then come out very well on the counterattack. And they want to play well. It's a good team, we had already seen it as a possible rival. They are not there by chance, we have to respect them and that's what we'll do."
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul echoed that caution and said Argentina would treat the knockout clash as a must-win final. "I think we have to face tomorrow's match with a lot of responsibility. It's very important for us," De Paul said. "We're not going to hold anything back every time we put on the Argentina national team jersey. For me, tomorrow's match is the last one. I take it that way and I'm going to give it my all so that it isn't and so there can be more."
The temperature forecast is to be around 30 degrees Celsius at kickoff. Scaloni acknowledged the challenge but stressed that it is the same for everyone. "It's for both, no doubt. I imagine it would have been better to play it at night. But the schedules are what they are and that's it," he added.