MIAMI — Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni is embracing the enormous wave of fan support pouring into Miami ahead of his team’s World Cup showdown with Cape Verde, calling the passionate supporters a 12th member of the squad.
Miami has served as home base for Argentina captain Lionel Messi ever since he signed with Inter Miami back in 2023. The city is also home to roughly 30,000 Argentine residents in southern Florida — the single largest concentration of Argentines living in any major metropolitan area across the United States.
By the time Friday’s round-of-32 match against the African underdogs gets underway, estimates put the Argentine fan presence in the city at around 60,000 people. Scaloni made clear at his pre-match news conference at Miami Stadium that he couldn’t be happier about it.
“Their support is something that I love,” the coach said. “We feel their support, they strengthen us and it’s not extra pressure for us. I hope that they enjoy seeing their team and hopefully we can bring them joy.”
“Our fans are our 12th player. Our players were Argentina fans when they were little. Now they’re wearing this jersey. I think that this shows the team’s character,” he added.
The iconic sky blue and white striped jersey — which earned Argentina’s national team the nickname “Albiceleste” — was on full display Friday as hundreds of fans packed a beachside park for a “Banderazo,” a traditional Argentine pep rally. The three-time world champions were well represented, with flags and banners hanging from trees, some depicting both Messi and the late football legend Diego Maradona lifting the World Cup trophy. Massive cuts of beef sizzled on charcoal and driftwood grills nearby.
After an early thunderstorm rolled through, the celebration resumed with drums, music, and fans wading into the seaweed-filled ocean while chanting songs in honor of their national team.
While Scaloni acknowledged Cape Verde as a legitimate threat not to be underestimated, many fans in attendance had little doubt about the outcome. Fan Geronimo Guenen predicted a comfortable Argentine victory.
“Argentina is going to come away with a very good 3-0, 2-0 victory, and that’s it,” Guenen said. “Argentina has everything it needs to win; it has a very good team, Messi is in very good form, he’s had that throughout his career, and now, above all, we can compete with anyone.”
