Argentina focused on Jordan with Cape Verde threat looming in round of 32

ARLINGTON, TX — Argentina will face Cape Verde in the World Cup round of 32, and manager Lionel Scaloni is already guarding against overconfidence in his squad.

The defending world champion still has to play its final group contest, a tilt with Jordan at Dallas Stadium, but no matter the result of that game it will go through as the winner.

That sets up a July 3 showdown with Cape Verde. Scaloni didn't know who the opponent would be when he spoke at his pre-match news conference earlier in the day but made clear that no matter who Argentina faces, it will go into the match wary of the opponent.

And while he will rotate his team to face Jordan, with Lionel Messi coming off the bench and other alternate players getting a chance to shine, he insisted it has nothing to do with the round of 32 game to come.

"The decision about who plays tomorrow isn’t related to who we’re playing against in the next round," "Saying I prefer one or the other would be a total lack of respect because the reality is I don’t prefer either one.

"I’d prefer for the World Cup to end tomorrow, and we be champion! Because, the reality is you’re seeing things that we’ve always said but are coming true. The opponents are very difficult. We’re in no position to choose or prefer. That’s not how it is."

It is not, but Argentina may be pleased to see its path to the latter stages unfold compared to that of some of its title rivals. The winner of the Albiceleste's match with the Blue Sharks will move to a round of 16 contest against the winner of a match between Australia and the runner-up of Group G - likely Egypt, Iran or Belgium.

Scaloni's approach to the national team may be informed by his own history. He appeared for Argentina just seven times, earning a surprise selection to the 2006 World Cup squad and playing in exactly one game. He said Friday that players need to always take the act of representing their country seriously, an attitude he has seen in his team

"I think that playing with this shirt means it doesn’t matter the moment, if you need points, if the players who haven’t played the last game are playing, it doesn’t matter," he said. "This shirt implies coming out to play, doing it well and trying to win every game. I never deviate from this point of view.

"We’re in the same mode we were in the in the first day, ready to see the guys, anxious, nervous, analyzing the opponent because the Argentina national team shirt involves all of that. … The way of preparing a match is always the same."

That message looks to be resonating with a team that already is a veteran group, forged by the frustrations of near-misses but also the success of the 2022 World Cup and the 2019 and 2024 Copa América tournaments.

"For me, every player, every part of the national wants to be in the national team, to do the best for their teammates and when you get 10, 15, 20 players together with the same mentality, it’s very difficult for an opponent to try to win," defender Nicolás Tagliafico said Friday. "Adding that to the quality the players we have makes us a very tough national team."

Scaloni will look to have his team ready for any opponent it sees, beginning with Jordan, continuing with Cape Verde, and, he hopes, extending four more matches to a successful title defense - though as he as said in every news conference this summer, "at the end, the powerful national teams will be there."