Argentina’s Thrilling World Cup Match Against Cape Verde

On Friday, Argentina aimed to advance its pursuit of consecutive World Cup titles, needing to overcome Cape Verde, a standout in this year’s tournament. The island nation off the West African coast entered the game ranked 64th worldwide. Impressively, Cape Verde held Argentina, now ranked second behind France, scoreless for nearly thirty minutes.

In the 29th minute, Lionel Messi broke the deadlock, giving Argentina the lead. This marked Messi’s 20th World Cup goal, making him the first player to score seven or more goals in multiple World Cups, a feat he achieved in Qatar as well. It was also his eighth consecutive World Cup match with a goal.

“Lionel Messi scored in his eighth-straight World Cup match and notched his 20th World Cup goal.”

Argentina, known for maintaining leads, saw Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte equalize early in the second half with a stunning goal, tying the match 1-1.

Argentina applied late pressure, including a dangerous Messi free kick from outside the box, which Cape Verde halted. The match progressed to extra time, with Cape Verde initially falling behind again. In the 92nd minute, Lisandro Martinez scored, putting Argentina in the lead once more.

Yet, Cape Verde persisted, leveling the match again at 103 minutes with an extraordinary goal from Sidny Lopes Cabral. Remarkably, Cape Verde scored twice against Argentina, a team that had only conceded two goals in its previous ten World Cup matches.

The decisive moment came in the 111th minute. Messi delivered a corner kick perfectly positioned for Cristian Romero, who headed the ball towards the net. Initially credited as a goal by Romero, it was later ruled an own goal by a Cape Verde defender.

Despite a barrage of late attempts, Argentina narrowly avoided one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. This match marked a significant effort by Cape Verde during the tournament.

Now, Argentina prepares for a challenging Round of 16 match against Egypt, scheduled for Tuesday in Atlanta.