Cape Verde coach Bubista said his side will not abandon its fearless approach when it faces defending champion Argentina in the World Cup round of 32 on Friday, insisting the tournament debutants remain focused on extending their historic campaign.
The former central defender has consistently encouraged his team to play with ambition throughout the tournament, a strategy that helped Cape Verde produce surprise draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia before reaching the knockout stage.
“Our main objective is to play a good match and try to get through to the next round,” Bubista told reporters on Thursday.
“We are in this competition on merit. We showed that during qualification, and we have shown in our three matches here that we can compete at this level.”
“We want to continue doing that in the best possible way, with humility, organisation and courage. This is a knockout match, so there is only one thought in our minds: to try to advance.”
While acknowledging the quality of Argentina, coach Lionel Scaloni and captain Lionel Messi, Bubista said Cape Verde had earned the right to compete after qualifying for the World Cup and finishing second in its group.
“Since we arrived, we have trusted in our own way of working and in what we have done. If others did not respect us, that was their issue. We trust our work,” he said.
“We played our three group matches on merit and with the possibility of winning them. That is what we intend to do again tomorrow. We know the quality of our opponent, but we still have our dream and we will continue to chase it.”
Rather than building a tactical plan solely around stopping Messi, Bubista said his team would prepare for the collective strength of the world’s top-ranked nation.
“The opponents change, but the difficulties remain. Every team brings different challenges,” he said.
“We always try to adapt to each opponent without losing our identity. We will try to do the same tomorrow against Argentina: respect them, but also maintain a strong ambition to get through the round.”
