Argentina will look to continue their dominant 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign when they take on Cape Verde in the Round of 32 at Miami Stadium on Saturday.
Kick-off is scheduled for 00:00 CAT (GMT+2).
Argentina have lived up to their billing as one of the tournament favourites, finishing top of Group J with a perfect nine points, five clear of second-placed Austria.
Lionel Messi has once again inspired the reigning South American giants. The Inter Miami captain opened his tournament with a hat-trick against Algeria on 17 June before Argentina secured a 2-0 victory over Austria and wrapped up the group stage with a 3-1 win over Jordan on 28 June.
While Argentina have dazzled in attack, Cape Verde have built their success on defensive resilience.
The African nation made history by becoming the smallest country ever to reach the FIFA World Cup knockout stages. They finished second in their group with three points after earning three consecutive draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Cape Verde head coach Pedro Leitao Brito believes his side is ready to embrace the challenge against one of football's biggest powers.
"It's a bit of a shock, although we'd always had it in mind that we might reach this stage after the first two matches.
"The team was really keen to show the whole world what we're made of; we were proud of what we'd already achieved.
"We're a small country, but we fight for what we want to achieve. For us, nothing is impossible."
Argentina: Lionel Messi The 39-year-old continues to rewrite the record books. Messi has scored six goals in three group-stage matches and now stands alone as the FIFA World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 19 goals. He will be aiming to add to that tally against Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: Vozinha The experienced goalkeeper is expected to play a pivotal role against Argentina's star-studded attack. Vozinha has already kept two clean sheets during the tournament and will likely need another outstanding performance to keep Cape Verde's dream alive.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Argentina and Cape Verde.
