Argentina Survives Cabo Verde Scare, Advances to Round of 16

By Daniel Feuerstein | Miami, FL | July 3rd, 2026

In a game where many believed that this would be an automatic destruction, it became one of the best matches in the Round of 32 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi and Argentina were ready to face Cabo Verde, and instead of tearing down the African nation, they had the biggest fight of their lives to remain in this tournament. When Argentina said We will score, Cabo Verde said Anything you can do, we can do better, but at the end of the match, Argentina was left standing, and they advanced by a final score of three goals to two After Extra Time.

Lionel Messi scores again

Argentina earned a free kick after a foul was committed inside the midfield circle. Lisandro Martinez was surveying the situation when he knew right away what the game plan was going to be. As soon as he delivered a long-distance free kick that just landed inside the Cabo Verde area, Lionel Messi was on his horse, making a huge run to the ball, settled it quickly, and struck it top shelf to get the opening goal in the 29th minute. That looked like a quarterback making a huge throw to his wide receiver for the touchdown.

The first gut punch by Cabo Verde

Many people weren’t thinking Cabo Verde was going to get scored on again, but after Messi’s goal, they tightened up defensively and were able to fight against Argentina and were looking to find a way to shock them, and they did it as Steven Moreira brought the ball down the pitch along the near side. He made a quick pass to Ryan Mendes, who entered the area and saw Deroy Duarte all alone with three defenders giving him the space. When Duarte got the ball, a defender tried to close him down, but failed, as the shot was low and tucked inside the far post for the first equalizer in the 59th minute.

Early goal inside extra time

No other goals were scored, as the match moves on toward extra time. Right away inside the opening minutes of the first half of extra time, Argentina quickly scored to regain the lead. They earned a corner at the far side, as the ball was landing inside the area; Alexis Mac Allister headed it toward the near side, it bounced away, but Lisandro Martinez quickly took possession of it and found a way to roof it underneath the crossbar and inside the near post to regain the lead in the 93rd minute, bringing life back to the Hard Rock Stadium.

A second miracle equalizer

Cabo Verde continued to show that being down a goal in the first 15 minutes of extra time never fazed them. They continued to play and looked for that second goal to level the match again. They did it late in the first half of extra time on an amazing goal. Cabo Verde started to rest themselves by pushing the ball back outside of the area. Yannick Semedo received the ball, then returned down the near side toward Sidny Lopes Cabral. A quick turn toward the area, then he unleashed a big bending ball that was aiming for the far post, and tucked inside of that post for the second equalizer in the 103rd minute. As he scored, Lopes Cabral made a run toward the bench in celebration, then continued the celebration all the way down the other side and went to the stands with all the fans of Cabo Verde and got a hug from his wife.

The final goal of the night became an own goal

Argentina was hunting for a third goal. They knew very well that if this match went into the penalty kick shootout, all their nerves would be on display, and they knew Cabo Verde was playing with house money. They earned a corner on the near side, and taking it was Messi. He wanted to make sure he was the one to deliver the setup for the big blow to Cabo Verde’s error. As he delivered the corner, the ball was deflected past the keeper and in. It originally looked like Cristian Romero got his head on to the ball and scored the winning goal, but after replays were shown, it was Cabo Verde’s Diney Borges who scored the own goal in the 111th minute. This is the 14th own goal scored in this World Cup.

Vozinha makes amazing saves

The 40-year-old Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha stood on his head to keep his side in the match until the very end. He was in perfect position, making the saves, and also got help from his backline with multiple blocked shots to remain a goal behind or even on the scoreboard. One big save made in the second half was on a free kick for Argentina. While the outfield players were setting up the wall and trying to position themselves for Argentina’s free kick, the whistle blew from referee Drew Fisher, and Messi right away took the free kick. No one was paying attention, only Vozinha, as he got both hands up at the far upper 90 and pushed it away from the net.

Cabo Verde leaves a legacy in this World Cup

In these four games in their first trip to the FIFA World Cup, Cabo Verde has proven to many people they are the new darlings of the tournament. They battled hard to a scoreless draw against Spain, then a two-goal draw against a poor Uruguay team, then they had another draw against Saudi Arabia and waited for Spain to take out Uruguay and allowed them to enter their first knockout stage game against Argentina. They showed how difficult they played, and when you thought they were down and out, Cabo Verde would roar back and make you think they are unkillable, until the final minute ticked and the final whistle blew.

Argentina just kept their heads above water against the Sharks of Cabo Verde and advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

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