MIAMI, July 2 (Reuters) - Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the country's football fans were like a 12th man for the team as thousands of them landed in Miami on Thursday, the eve of their World Cup clash against Cape Verde.
The tropical city has been home to captain Lionel Messi since he joined Inter Miami in 2023 and some 30,000 other Argentines are resident in southern Florida, the largest concentration in any conurbation in the United States.
Some estimates suggest the support for Messi and his
teammates in the city will be 60,000-strong by the time the round-of-32 match against the African outsiders kicks off on Friday and Scaloni welcomed them.
"Their support is something that I love," he told his pre-match news conference at Miami Stadium.
"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."
The sky blue and white striped shirt that gives the three-time world champions their "Albiceleste" nickname was ubiquitous as hundreds of Argentina fans gathered at a beachside park for a "Banderazo", or pep rally, on Friday.
Argentina flags and banners, some featuring Messi and his fellow footballing icon Diego Maradona holding aloft the World Cup, were hung from trees as huge hunks of beef were grilled on charcoal and driftwood barbecues.
Once an early thunderstorm had cleared, drums pounded and music played as some fans braved the seaweed-clogged ocean to chant songs in praise of their heroes.
While Scaloni was wary of the threat presented by underdogs Cape Verde, many Argentina fans were less cautious.
"Argentina is going to come away with a very good 3-0, 2-0 victory, and that's it," said Geronimo Guenen.
"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."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, Joyce Zhou, Ayhan Uyanik and Amanda Perobelli, editing by Toby Davis)
