Argentina 3 Cape Verde 2 (aet): Holders survive major World Cup scare and edge through after minnows’ heroic effort

THIS wasn’t in the script for Lionel Messi. It was supposed to be another game, another slice of history, another step closer to a second successive World Cup triumph. Of course, the little maestro delivered. He always does. But not before Cape Verde stunned Lionel Scaloni’s World champs with two shock levellers which rocked Argentina and the watching world. If Deroy Duarte’s 59th minute strike was stunning, Sidny Cabral’s extra-time effort will go down as one of the greatest World Cup moments in history. READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP The curling finish. The wild celebrations. The feeling that literally anything was possible. Messi was kept pretty quiet all night. He drifted in and out but couldn’t get a complete grip on the game. No one in blue and white could. Make no mistake – the smallest team ever to reach the business end of the World Cup more than deserved their share of the spoils. In the end, Messi’s corner was headed into his own net by Diney Borges and a last-16 date with Egypt was booked. 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. But the final scoreline doesn’t even come close to telling half of this remarkable, scarcely believable match, Argentina’s squad is valued at £693.7m, whereas Cape Verde’s is worth a paltry £46.8m. It didn’t look like it. Anything but. Eventually, it was left to a slice of luck and an own goal to seal the win. But what a performance – and tournament – for Cape Verde. The group stage draw with Spain was out of this world. This performance, however, was from a different planet. They deserve all the plaudits, as does record-breaking Messi. His brilliant first-half strike here in Miami was not only a thing of beauty – the classy outside of the left boot control followed by typically brilliant finish – it was record-breaking. The strike – his seventh of this World Cup – looked to have fired Scaloni’s side into a lead with the 60,000 Argentines in the crowd already looking forward to that clash with Mo Salah’s Egypt. The evergreen 39-year-old extended his records of goals in the World Cup to 20, and continued his scoring streak to eight. Messi now has 12 direct goal involvements in World Cup knockout matches, with six goals and six assists, surpassing Pele and Kylian Mbappe for the most on record since 1966. Oh, and he also became the first player ever to score in every single World Cup round – bagging in each group game followed by the opener here. But, as that old football saying goes, never doubt Cape Verde. The smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup knockout stages have the biggest heart. They also possess, as our Spanish amigos would say, unreal cojones. Defending like heroes and attacking with the ball whenever the chance presented itself, the minnows kept it tight after Messi’s opener. What a strike it was. Unable to bypass Cape Verde’s defence, stopper Martinez knocked the ball long. It fell to Messi whose first touch was out of this world. You know what happened after that. The floodgates were supposed to open. But they remained bolted shut. Bubista’s team were solid in defence, full of running in attack. They weren’t on the backfoot, praying for mercy as most predicted, They were having a right old go. And then, on 59 minutes, a moment of pure Miami magic happened. Ryan Mendes fed Duarte and the midfielder found himself in acres of space. His finish was cool, calm and collected. Basically, the opposite of what must have been happening on the collection of 10 islands off the coast of West Africa. Picture those limbs. Messi and his all-conquering pals were rocked. The little magician was denied by the now legendary Cape Verde keeper Vozinha just before the drinks break with a lovely save from a curling free-kick. It was astonishing stuff from the country who only joined Fifa in 1986 – the same year as Diego Maradona was lifting that gleaming gold trophy in Mexico City. Cape Verde weren’t just hanging on – they were mixing it up superbly against the no1 ranked side in the world. Irish defender Pico Lopes, who was snapped up by the West Africans via a message on LinkedIn, went perilously close to putting through his own net but as the clock ticked towards 84 minutes, his boys were famously holding firm. Messi flickered in and out of the game. Argentina were running out of answers. Into extra-time we went. A monumental upset was edging ever closer. Then, just moments into the first period, Martinez thrashed home from the edge of the six-yard box. Game over? Fat chance. Cabral’s unreal strike which curled viciously and gathered pace as it left his boot was seriously special. Penalties were looming until Diney headed in an own goal. In the end, it was heartbreak for Cape Verde. Yet the memories of their brilliant, inspirational run to the last 32 here will live long in the memory. How could they not?