Lopes will relish Messi duel, says Cape Verde defender’s motherpublished at 13:06 BST
Argentina v Cape Verde (Fri, 23:00 BST)
Jana McCabe
BBC Sport NI
Image source, Getty ImagesThe prospect of facing World Cup record goalscorer Lionel Messi in a knockout game would strike fear into most defenders.
However, Judy Lopes believes her son Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes will embrace the challenge.
The Cape Verde centre-back has helped the African side progress to the last 32 from Group H after draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
After finishing runners-up behind European champions Spain, they now face defending champions Argentina in Miami on Friday (23:00 BST) for a spot in the last 16.
Messi will lead Argentina’s attack and has already scored six goals during what is expected to be his last World Cup.
“He’ll relish the challenge of taking on Messi at the weekend and he’s always very composed, confident and performs very well under pressure,” she told BBC Sport NI’s Nicola McCarthy.
“He just takes it all in the stride. He’s very grounded, level-headed and he’ll be well able to block out the noise that’s around in this fixture.
“People don’t realise he’s very experienced at this stage. He’s played through two Afcons [Africa Cup of Nations] and also spent 10 years with Shamrock Rovers and I don’t think it’ll faze him at all, and I think he’ll relish the challenge and hopefully come out on top.”
