DALLAS (special envoy).– The 3-1 victory over Jordan will go down in history as the match in which Messi He continued to nourish his figure as a scorer and legend. The captain came off the bench, kicked two free throws and scored a goal to remain at the top of the scoring charts. In this World Cup, with 6 conquests, and in the history of the World Cups, with 18.
With the magnet of Messi and one of the great candidates, the selection of Scaloni He closed his second game in Texas with the sign of full house: 70,649 spectators filled Dallas Stadium for the second time in a weekone of the most impressive venues of this World Cup.
The group stage is now history and The national team sets its sights on its next rival, the surprising Cape Verdethe small African archipelago in the Atlantic that will seek to make history on Friday on the other side of the ocean, in Miami.
The world champions arouse the envy and resentment of a large part of the football universe for the rival they will face in the round of 32. Issues of the draw and also the merit of their next rival, who tied in the group round against two world champions, Scaloni’s team begins to prepare this Sunday in Kansas City how to overcome a rival that has a 40-year-old goalkeeper and a forward who was contacted by the job network LinkedIn, but who showed great character by qualifying second and undefeated in his group.
The small country that was a Portuguese colony until half a century ago and that is off the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania, south of the Canary Islands, celebrated in the early hours of Saturday a dream that began with the surprising draw against Spain in the first game of the group stage. They continued with a 2-2 draw against Uruguay and closed on Friday night with a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia, which left them second and with the ticket to play with another world champion.
Pedro Leitao Brito He was captain of the national team for a decade and Today he is the coach who guides the Blue Sharks through this adventure. “It is an honor to be able to measure our strength against Argentina. It is a country with which we have historical ties; many Cape Verdeans emigrated to Argentina, but our desire is to do things in accordance with our identity,” highlighted “Bubista.”
Knowing that he is in charge of the great surprise of this World Cup, the Cape Verdean coach arrives at the duel with the Argentine team with nine official matches without defeats and does not give up: “We will play responsibly, knowing that they have the best players in the world and Lionel Messi, who, for many, is the best of all time. We know the difficulties we will face, but we will always try to overcome them without fear and with discipline.”
Among the virtues of his leaders, he highlighted “unity” and “great mental strength.” And he is excited about moving on to the next stage: “It is a source of satisfaction for everyone. One of the objectives is to show our country to the world. Being able to face Argentina and Messi at a time like this is excellent.”
Beaches and tourists
The paradise dotted by a dozen islands and islets in the middle of the Atlantic is the birthplace of the singer Cesaria Évora. It has one of the best standards of living in Africa and its main source of income is tourism. British, French and Germans, in that order, enjoy a relaxed atmosphere in a tropical climate for much of the year. Nearly 1.2 million tourists visited the country last year, double its population, setting a new record. The locals chose the 7 Wonders of Cape Verde through a contest, among more than 400 natural sites throughout the archipelago. Highlights include the volcano on Fogo Island, which is still active. Santa María beach and the Pedra de Lume salt flats on the island of Sal, the Viana desert in Boa Vista and the Monte Gordo natural park in São Nicolau.
Cape Verde was a key point that the Portuguese empire used to trade thousands of slaves from Africa to its colonies in America.
Vozinhagoalkeeper and captain of Cape Verde, highlights the keys to facing Argentina in the roots of a proud people. “We grew up with enormous difficulties, and our parents and grandparents made sacrifices and taught us to value things. We demonstrate the resilience of the Cape Verdean peoplethe passion we feel for our country and also that we are here to represent not only the players, but all Cape Verdeans scattered around the world. “We have a big heart and we are fighters,” he declared after qualifying.
Next station, Miami
For almost a week, Dallas was invaded by Argentines who took the opportunity to watch the last two games of the group stage. The day before the confrontation with Jordan, a second massive flag was set up in Klyde Warren Park. These days, in the north Texas city it was common to come across Messi t-shirts and Argentine accents in supermarkets, clothing stores and restaurants.
Among the almost 30,000 fans who mobilized in Kansas City and Dallas, there is growing concern: the price of tickets to ensure a place to see the world champions.
The resale for the match against Jordan was in the preview between 2000 and 3000 dollars for a ticket that months ago was between 500 and 700 dollars. That with an alternative formation, the qualified team and Messi starting from the bench.
Now the Miami chapter will comewhere Argentina will be local. The Hard Rock Stadium has a capacity of almost 65,000 spectators for this World Cup.
According to the last census, In the Miami area there are about 80,000 Argentine residents. But if you take into account those who have US nationality, entered the country with another passport and those who are undocumented, that figure climbs to about 200,000.
Nearly 30,000 fans will join them. A part has been following the team in the first three games of the group stage. Another will arrive from Argentina, where in recent days there has been a strong demand for tickets.
In addition to the few places available in the stadium, there was strong demand, which in the last few hours skyrocketed the price of tickets. In resale, tickets for Argentina-Cape Verde are offered from $5,000 and no one believes they can go down. They will even continue to rise.
As already happened in the two presentations that Messi’s team had at the Miami Stadium during the Copa América that it won in 2024, the match against Peru in the group round and the final against Colombia, the city preferred by Argentines in the state of Florida will also host a massive flag. The appointment is already launched. It will be next Thursday, July 2 at 1 p.m. on 85th and Collins, in the North Beach area and a few meters from the beach.
