{"id":360816,"date":"2026-07-04T11:18:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=360816"},"modified":"2026-07-04T11:18:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:48:56","slug":"messi-argentina-beat-cape-verde-3-2-in-additional-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/04\/messi-argentina-beat-cape-verde-3-2-in-additional-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi, Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in additional time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Players<\/p>\n

Players of Argentina have a good time after the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Florida, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida \u2014 Lionel Messi wiped the sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief. His Argentina teammates did the identical.<\/p>\n

An exciting, unforgettable World Cup match with underdog Cape Verde was over \u2014 and the defending champions survived after being pushed to the brink.<\/p>\n

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Cape Verde equalized in regulation and again in additional time, however the Blue Sharks couldn’t reply to Argentina\u2019s third goal, and La Albiceleste advanced to the Round of 16 with a 3-2 victory on Friday.<\/p>\n

READ: World Cup: Messi subs in, scores again as Argentina sweeps group<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even in defeat, the performance by Cape Verde \u2014 a tiny island nation off the western coast of Africa \u2014 will stand as one of the remarkable stories of this, or any, World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even have to offer credit to our opponents,\u201d Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. \u201cThe reality is, when people say there\u2019s no such thing as a simple opponent, today (Cape Verde) proved they\u2019re an ideal team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The go-ahead rating for Argentina was credited as an own-goal after Cristian Romero\u2019s header deflected off Cape Verde\u2019s Diney Borges within the 111th minute. Messi scored early in regulation, his record-extending twentieth profession World Cup goal. Lisandro Martinez scored within the 92nd to place Argentina ahead 2-1.<\/p>\n

Sidny Lopes Cabral and Deroy Duarte scored for Cape Verde \u2014 each equalizers that stunned the pro-Argentina crowd in South Florida. Cabral\u2019s goal \u2014 a curling, right-footed strike past goalkeeper Emiliano Mart\u00ednez within the 103rd minute \u2014 made an already wild game much more incredible, tying it at 2-all and raising the opportunity of Messi facing standout Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha in a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina's\"Argentina's<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Argentina pushed back in front eight minutes later, held on from there and advanced to face Egypt \u2014 which beat Australia in a shootout earlier Friday \u2014 in Atlanta on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs this team has demonstrated again and again, and as I\u2019ve said again and again, it competes,\u201d Messi said in Spanish. \u201cAnd we competed to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cape Verde\u2019s memorable World Cup debut had been a surprising run that few outside the country of 525,000 could have predicted. Behind the stellar play of the 40-year-old Vozinha, Cape Verde became the smallest country to succeed in the knockout round, securing surprising draws against former champions Spain and Uruguay and one other against Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

READ: Messi becomes first to attain in 7 straight World Cup games<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vozinha had 10 saves against Argentina, including five against Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe dignify what our country is. We drew twice against the world champions, we took it to additional time,\u201d Cape Verde coach Bubista said. \u201cGreater than anything, it\u2019s being happy with our players who were dignified within the World Cup. We showed our identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messi added one other sensible goal to his resume, sneaking behind the Cape Verde defense on a well-timed run as Martinez lofted a pass toward him, taking a fast touch and hammering a finish into the roof of the online for a 1-0 lead within the twenty ninth minute.<\/p>\n

The Argentina captain has seven goals on this tournament \u2014 yet one more France\u2019s Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 within the Golden Boot race as the highest scorer on this yr\u2019s World Cup \u2014 and prolonged his World cup record, moving two goals ahead of Mbapp\u00e9 on the profession list. He has 12 goals during his record eight-match scoring streak.<\/p>\n

Messi had the sport\u2019s first probability that he sent skidding across the goal mouth but outside of the appropriate post within the fifteenth minute. After getting taken down, he had a 25-yard free kick three minutes later that was easily wolfed up by Vozinha, who got here up with a wonderful save nearly each time his team needed one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got here so close, we pushed them right to the top,\u201d Cape Verde defender Pico Lopes said. \u201cBut in the long run, it wasn\u2019t to be. Dissatisfied \u2026 but I feel we showed great character today, an ideal quality to get back into the sport twice. They\u2019re the world champions for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bubista and players remained on the pitch well after the ultimate whistle. Some sat with their heads nestled of their chests. Other shared tearful embraces before waving to their small crowd of supporters, reality sinking in at the top of a ride that nearly nobody outside of their fearless island could have predicted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe showed that we could also be a small country,\u201d Bubista said, \u201cbut we are able to play against a few of one of the best teams on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Players of Argentina have a good time after the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Florida, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) MIAMI GARDENS, Florida \u2014 Lionel Messi wiped the sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief. His Argentina teammates did the identical. An […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20686],"tags":[14852,1125,21953,9675,5612,446,43053],"class_list":["post-360816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-argentina","tag-beat","tag-cape","tag-extra","tag-messi","tag-time","tag-verde"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t