Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde: Messi Survives Scare
The holders are through, but only just. Argentina needed 111 minutes, an own goal and a great deal of nerve to see off Cape Verde in Miami, and for long stretches the tournament debutants looked capable of pulling off one of the great World Cup shocks. Lionel Messi gave Argentina the lead they expected; Cape Verde twice took it away, once through a strike that will be replayed for years. In the end Lionel Scaloni's side found a way, as champions often do, but nobody left the Miami heat thinking this was comfortable.
How did Messi open the scoring?
With the timing that has defined his whole career. On 29 minutes Lautaro Martínez lofted a pass in behind the Cape Verde line and Lionel Messi read it a fraction before everyone else, taking a touch and hammering a finish over goalkeeper Vozinha to make it 1-0. It was his seventh goal of the tournament and another line in a men's World Cup scoring record that is now his alone.
For a while it looked like the platform for a routine afternoon. Argentina were controlled, Messi was pulling the strings, and Cape Verde were being asked to chase a game against the best player of his generation. The lead, though, lasted barely half an hour.
How did Cape Verde keep fighting back?
By refusing to be overawed. On 59 minutes Deroy Duarte found space in the box and finished precisely through Lisandro Martínez's legs, past Emiliano Martínez, to level it and remind Argentina exactly what they were dealing with. This was no gimme draw; Cape Verde had come to play.
Even when Argentina went back in front in extra time, the debutants came again. Sidny Lopes Cabral picked the ball up on the edge of the area and curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner, one of the goals of the entire World Cup, to make it 2-2 on 103 minutes and send a jolt of genuine fear through the Argentine support.
How did Argentina finally win it?
Off the woodwork of luck as much as anything. In between Cape Verde's equalisers, Lautaro Martínez had restored the lead to make it 2-1, and after Lopes Cabral hauled his side level again, the decisive moment came on 111 minutes. Cristian Romero rose to meet a delivery and his header deflected off Cape Verde's Diney Borges and in, an own goal that finally broke the debutants' resistance.
It was scrappy, it was fortunate, and it was exactly the kind of goal that separates sides who expect to win from sides who are just happy to be there. Argentina did not play well, but they kept going long enough for something to fall their way, and against a team with nothing to lose that is often what champions have to do.
Where does this leave Cape Verde?
Heading home with their heads high. On their first World Cup appearance, a nation of half a million people took the reigning world champions to extra time and came within a deflection of forcing penalties. Lopes Cabral's goal will be shown for years, and the wider performance suggested this was no fluke run.
There is no disgrace in losing like this, and plenty to build on. Cape Verde leave the tournament as one of its best stories, having proved they belong on the stage rather than merely visiting it.
Should Argentina be worried?
A little, if they are honest. Winning ugly keeps you in the tournament, but the holders were second best for long spells against a side ranked well below them, and the defensive lapses that let Cape Verde in twice will not go unnoticed by the teams still standing. Messi remains the difference-maker, yet a champion cannot lean on him alone forever.
Next comes Egypt in the Round of 16, a tie Argentina will expect to win but one they can no longer take for granted. Scaloni will know his side rode their luck here, and that the deeper they go, the less often that luck tends to hold. For now, though, the holders are still in it — and with Messi still scoring, they are dangerous whatever the manner of the win.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the score in Argentina vs Cape Verde at World Cup 2026?
Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde after extra time. Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez scored, with the winner an own goal, in the Round of 32 in Miami on July 3, 2026.
Who scored for Argentina against Cape Verde?
Lionel Messi opened on 29 minutes and Lautaro Martínez scored in extra time, with the decisive third goal an own goal off Cape Verde's Diney Borges on 111 minutes.
How many goals does Messi have at World Cup 2026?
Seven. His strike against Cape Verde took Messi to seven goals for the tournament and extended his all-time men's World Cup scoring record.
Who do Argentina play next at World Cup 2026?
Argentina advance to the Round of 16, where they face Egypt.
Did Cape Verde do well against Argentina?
Yes. On their World Cup debut, Cape Verde twice came from behind and took the reigning champions to extra time, with Sidny Lopes Cabral scoring one of the goals of the tournament.
People Also Ask
Data sources
- FIFA — Argentina 3-2 Cabo Verde match report and highlights
- ESPN — Messi, holders survive huge scare after Lopes Cabral stunner
- Al Jazeera — Messi scores but Argentina given upset fright
- Olympics.com — Messi extends scoring record as Cabo Verde push holders
- Wikipedia — 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
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