Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in narrow World Cup Round of 32 win

Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in narrow World Cup Round of 32 win

Defending world champions Argentina narrowly avoided a historic upset on Friday, July 3, defeating Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The victory secures Argentina a place in the Round of 16, where they will face Egypt.

The match was defined by the heroics of Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who recorded eight saves. His performance kept the underdog nation competitive throughout regulation and deep into extra time, including a critical stoppage-time save and a 73rd-minute stop on a free kick from Lionel Messi.

Messi opened the scoring in the 28th minute after a floated ball from Lisandro Martinez allowed the captain to control the ball and fire into the top net. The goal marked Messi's 20th career World Cup goal, making him the first player to reach that milestone in men's history. The strike also placed him in outright first place in the Golden Boot race, leaving him six goals shy of Just Fontaine's 1958 record of 13 goals in a single tournament.

Cape Verde responded in the 58th minute. Ryan Mendes provided the assist for Deroy Duarte, who turned and struck the ball between the legs of Emiliano Martinez to tie the game 1-1. Despite Argentina's control for portions of the match, Cape Verde remained aggressive, forcing the game into a frenzied 30 minutes of extra time.

Argentina regained the lead shortly after extra time began. Following a corner kick from Messi, Lisandro Martinez recovered a loose ball and fired it into the top corner to make it 2-1. The lead was short-lived; Sidny Lopes Cabral equalized with a curled shot from outside the 18-yard box that flew into the top right corner.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 110th minute. A lofted corner from Messi found the head of Cristian Romero, whose strike deflected off a Cape Verde defender and into the net. Argentina survived a final mad scramble and a pair of late throw-ins to hold the 3-2 lead.

Lionel Messi was named Player of the Match for the third time in the tournament, an award he has won every time he has started in this World Cup.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game, this team had not lost against Spain and Uruguay. We did the hardest thing, which was finding the first goal. We thought that's how we'd be able to find our game, but it ended up being the other way. We lost the ball, fell back, couldn't press well, and they hit us. This is knockout football and no one will forgive you a thing."

Lionel Messi, Argentina Captain, via NY Times

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised the resilience of the opposition, noting that the Cape Verde players finished the match "absolutely exhausted."

"It was an incredibly tough match, but we must always look on the bright side, and the fact is that this team never gives up. I’d like to congratulate our opponents; the truth is that when people say there are no easy opponents, today they’ve shown that they’re a great team."

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina Manager, via NY Times

Cape Verde, making its World Cup debut, ends its tournament as a standout story. The team remained undefeated in 90 minutes across four matches, recording three draws before this extra-time loss. The nation is the smallest to ever advance to the knockout stage of a World Cup.

The spotlight also remained on Vozinha, whose popularity surged during the tournament. After starting with 50,000 Instagram followers, his count rose to 8 million following a draw against Spain, and reached 18.4 million shortly after the final whistle on Friday.

While Argentina celebrates, the victory comes amid a cloud for Cape Verde captain Ryan Mendes. According to Brazil’s Globo, Mendes is under investigation for rape in New Zealand, accused of sexually assaulting a translator for the team during a visit to that country.

Hard Rock Stadium will continue to host World Cup action, concluding with the third-place game on July 18.