When Lionel Messi lines up against 40-year-old free agent goalkeeper Vozinha on Friday, it will represent one of football’s most extraordinary contrasts.
Argentina and Cape Verde meet at the Miami Stadium on Friday at 23:00 BST in what promises to be a genuinely remarkable World Cup occasion.
Cape Verde arrived at this tournament as complete unknowns, but their debut on the world stage has already produced some of the competition’s most compelling stories.
A goalless draw against European champions Spain was heralded as one of the greatest shocks in World Cup history, and Cape Verde did not even win the match.
They then drew against two-time World Cup winners Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, finishing second in their group and booking a last-32 place nobody thought possible.
Now they face three-time world champions Argentina, the current holders, in what could genuinely be the largest mismatch the World Cup has ever produced.
Argentina, who first contested the tournament in 1930 and have only failed to qualify once, secured their third title four years ago in Qatar, beating France on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
La Albiceleste have also won the Copa America a record 16 times, including the past two tournaments, cementing their status as one of the most decorated national sides in football history.
Cape Verde, by contrast, only formed their football federation in 1982 and did not enter World Cup qualifying at all until 2002.
Their squad value of 54.5m euros compares starkly to Argentina’s 807.5m euros, with five individual Argentina players each worth more than the entire Cape Verde first XI.
Taking just the starting elevens, Argentina’s combined value stands at £360.3m, led by Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez at £77.4m, against Cape Verde’s total of just £19.77m.
Vozinha, the goalkeeper who has become one of the tournament’s surprise stars, became a free agent on Tuesday when his contract with Portuguese second division side Chaves expired.
Only Villarreal defender Logan Costa plays in any of Europe’s top five leagues, while 23 of the Cape Verde squad are based in Europe at various levels across the continent.
Their first-ever World Cup finals goal was scored by Kevin Pina, born in the capital city of Praia, in the 2-2 draw against Uruguay.
Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Paul and Messi both play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, with the other 21 squad members all competing in Europe’s top five domestic leagues.
Sixteen members of the Argentina squad are already World Cup winners, carrying collective experience that Cape Verde’s players simply cannot match at this level.
Cape Verde is an island nation of around 530,000 people, making it the smallest country ever to reach a World Cup knockout stage, breaking the record Northern Ireland had held since 1958.
Argentina’s population of 46 million and gross domestic product of $683bn dwarfs Cape Verde’s 530,000 people and $3bn economy in every measurable sense.
Yet the football has already proved that statistics and rankings tell only part of the story, and Cape Verde will arrive in Miami with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
