STUBBORN CAPE VERDE REFUSE ARGENTINA AN EASY PATH TO WORLD CUP ROUND OF 16

The island nation’s fairytale looked set to continue, but Argentina found a winner in overtime to seal a 3-2 victory and advance.

Judge Jarachara

July 04, 2026

2 min read

65 views

Cape Verde made Argentina sweat for every inch on Friday night, but Lionel Messi and company survived a fierce scare to reach the World Cup 2026 Round of 16 with a 3-2 extra-time win at Miami Stadium.

The World Cup debutants, a nation of just over 500,000 people, came into the Round of 32 clash having drawn all three group games against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia. Coach Bubista promised his side would play without fear against the reigning champions, and they delivered.

Argentina struck first through Messi in the 29th minute. But Cape Verde, ranked 67th in the world, refused to fold. They leveled in the second half, and after Argentina went 2-1 up, Ryan Mendes and Deroy Duarte’s men hit back again to force extra time.

The island nation’s fairytale looked set to continue, but Argentina found a winner in overtime to seal a 3-2 victory and advance.

“We are not surprised, to be honest. They are a good team, and they are not here by chance,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said before the match. Cape Verde midfielder Deroy Duarte summed up his team’s mindset: “From tomorrow, we’ll focus on the next match. It’s against Argentina, isn’t it? A tough match, but let’s believe anything is possible,” he said.

Argentina dominated the stats with 65% possession and 22 shots to Cape Verde’s 11, but the Blue Sharks forced goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez into action and left Cape Verde fans in tears of pride at the final whistle.

Messi, who scored his sixth goal of the tournament in the win, now moves on to face Egypt in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, July 7, in Atlanta.

For Cape Verde, the dream run ends, but not before they showed the world that nothing is impossible. As Bubista said before kickoff: “We are a small country but we fight for what we want.” On Friday night in Miami, they proved it.

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