Cape Verde star stuns Argentina with best goal of World Cup, climbs into crowd and hugs girlfriend before cruel defeat

CAPE VERDE’s Sidny Lopes Cabral scored the best goal of the World Cup and then celebrated by sprinting into the crowd to hug his girlfriend. The stunning strike against Argentina dragged his side back to 2-2 in extra-time of their incredible last 32 clash. Cabral cut in from the left hand side and whipped the ball into the far corner just when it seemed the African’s were destined to peter out. The 23-year-old – actually born in Holland – used an Argentine defender to block the goalkeeper’s vision and whip a stunning effort across goal. The manic celebrations that followed saw the full-back sprint into the crowd and then bizarrely wait as his partner made her way down to embrace him. While the identity of the Trabzonspor defender’s girlfriend is unknown, she was certainly thrilled to embrace her man. READ MORE Ian Wright remarked on ITV: “He wouldn’t go back on the pitch until his girlfriend had seen him.” Lopes Cabral – who was playing in the fifth tier of German football just a few years ago – will do well to ever beat that moment in his career and the 23-year-old made sure to savour every moment he could. He very nearly replicated the feat in the 115th minute from a free-kick but Emi Martinez managed to tip his effort over the bar. It was the latest stunning moment in a magical World Cup for the African minnows who held the mighty Spain in the group stages and drew with Uruguay as well. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS World Cup 2026 - all the info IT'S A KNOCKOUT The knockout stages of the World Cup are hotting up. England believe football might finally be coming home after 60 years of hurt, with Harry Kane on fire. But the likes of France, Spain, Brazil and Argentina are all serious contenders to go all the way. Heavyweights Germany and the Netherlands have both been knocked out on penalties in the Round of 32. LATEST NEWS - All pubs that will open for England’s 1am World Cup clash - Mexican journalists planning to sabotage England’s preparations - England’s ‘spygate’ fears see chiefs make late change to schedule - The technology that kept Ronaldo’s World Cup dream alive - Ronaldo in tears as he wears Jota shirt in emotional tribute KEY INFO - World Cup 2026 full match schedule including kick-off times - World Cup 2026 full squads - World Cup 2026 rule changes - World Cup 2026 prize money VIDEO - Proper Football Daily: Get all the expert analysis each morning - Team Talk – Tactics Exposed: Dive into the tactical talking points TIPS AND BETTING If you click a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. Now, in the World Cup knockouts, they were on the cusp of shocking the world again – coming from behind TWICE to push Argentina towards penalties Sadly, the all-time upset was only on the cards for about five minutes. Tottenham’s Cristian Romero got his head on a Lionel Messi cross to make it 3-2. Romero’s header actually hit a defender’s hand on the way in and that steered it towards goal, unfortunately for the brave Cape Verde troops. It was later ruled an own goal. To put into context the difference between the two sides, Argentina are the second best team in the world in the Fifa rankings – Cape Verde are the ninth best in Africa at 67th in the world. The defending champions held on to sneak through, but Messi and Co barely celebrated on the whistle. It was Cape Verde’s day as a new star lit his name up in lights.