Argentina may have been expecting to see South American rival Uruguay or even fellow title favorite Spain in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup, but manager Lionel Scaloni insists his team is fully focused on its actual opponent this round, shock knockout round qualifier Cape Verde.The World Cup debutants drew all three of their group match, stunning Spain and then matching Uruguay in a 2-2 contest and playing out a scoreless stalemate with Saudi Arabia. While the Blue Sharks are yet to enjoy a first World Cup win, Scaloni said Argentina must be alert to the danger the African side poses."Its a team that hasnt lost, even in some games it I think against (Saudi) Arabia they deserved to win, against Spain and Uruguay they suffered a bit more but they defended well. They stop interior passes well and then counter strongly," Scaloni said. "Its a good team. Weve seen them, not just because we play them now but we scouted them as a possible opponent."They got through, and it doesnt surprise us, sincerely. It's a good team. Its not coincidence theyre here. You have to respect them, and thats what well do."The message seems to be getting through, even though midfielder Rodrigo De Paul admitted he was expecting a South American showdown against neighbor Uruguay with a vibrant crowd in Miami."Its true that when the draw came out, in the group we were set up to face there were two champions of the world national teams with important players who play in great leagues, but also as years go by and understanding these tournaments, thats soccer. It can happen," De Paul said. "I think were up against an opponent who did very, very well in the group stage, its not easy to play the national teams they played."Cape Verde now heads into the contest needing a first-ever World Cup win and needing it to come against Lionel Messi, De Paul and Co. While their posture has been defensive so far and is likely to remain so against an Argentina team that loves having the ball and passing around to create chances, Cape Verde manager Bubista noted that his team will try to do what it takes to win the game and has the confidence it can hang with Argentina."Of course we believe. We are working hard, we believe in ourselves, in our strength, in the work we are doing, we believe in our players, in our team," Bubista said. "Of course we know this will be a hard game, a very difficult one against a team that is able to win against anyone but we believe we can play a great match, play a great match and we also can hurt our opponent. So, we understand, as I said, hardships ahead of us but we are brave, we are ambitious and we want to play to win."The winner of the round of 32 matches moves into the round of 16 with a matchup against the winner of Egypt vs. Australia, which takes place earlier in the day in Dallas.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Argentina manager not surprised to see Cape Verde in World Cup round of 32 showdown