Messi, Argentina survive Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time thriller to reach Round of 16
Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates were 4,400 miles from Buenos Aires on Friday night, but it sure did not feel like it.
Hard Rock Stadium looked and sounded like La Bombonera, one of the world’s most iconic soccer stadiums, as a sellout crowd of 64,478, most in light blue and white striped No. 10 jerseys, serenaded the defending World Cup champions from start to finish as they survived a thrilling Round of 32 match against Cape Verde that was tied 1-1 after regulation and ended with a 3-2 victory.
The game will go down as a World Cup classic.
“It’s over! In one of the most remarkable games in the history of the World Cup, Argentina survives!” FOX Sports’ John Strong announced as the final whistle blew.
“What a night. Cape Verde, thank you,” added FOX analyst Stu Holden. “On behalf of the world, you made us dream and watch your dreams lived out in real time. We’ll never forget you. What a performance against the world champions...toe-to-toe, against all the odds. Just a beautiful game. Football wins again.”
Lisandro Martinez appeared to be the Argentine hero of the night when he scored in the 92nd minute, chasing down a headed pass from Alexis Mac Allister following a corner kick and knocking in a left-footed shot. He fell to the ground as his teammates piled on top of him.
Argentina’s fans were finally able to exhale, and broke into “Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ola! Cada dia te quiero mas!” (Every day I love you more)
Not so fast, said Cape Verde. Sidny Lopes Cabral shocked the crowd and T.V. audiences all over the world when he unleashed a golazo from the left side of the goal in the 103rd minute, curling the ball into the top corner, leaving Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez helpless.
After 105 minutes, the score remained tied, 2-2.
Never mind that Argentina had dominated possession 65 percent to 35 percent. Or that Argentina had taken 20 shots, nine of them on goal, to just nine shots total and three on goal for Cape Verde. Nor did it matter than Argentina had 13 attempts inside the box. Vozinha had made eight saves and his back line proved resilient.
Argentina finally re-took the lead for good in the 111th minute when Cristian Romero hit a glancing header that deflected off the arm of Cape Verde defender Diney Borges for an own goal. Argentina went ahead 3-2 and hung on to advance to the Round of 16, where it will face Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday at noon.
Messi, who scored the first goal for Argentina to extend his World Cup scoring streak to eight matches, had a lump on his forehead as a souvenir of the hard-fought match.
“Some people may underestimate certain teams, but we knew this was never going to be an easy match,” Messi said. “That’s what makes the World Cup so unique and special. Everything is incredibly close, teams are even, and every single game is extremely difficult. We didn’t expect to suffer that much, but we knew it would be a hard match because they did not lose to Spain or Uruguay and they advanced from their group.
“But our team never gives up, whether we are playing well or not.”
Leandro Paredes added that pride in their national team and the passion of Argentina fans motivated them to fight through the tough moments of the match.
“All the teams in the World Cup are tough, and we did not play our best game, but suffering is good sometimes and it is important to win games like this because it shows that you can fight through adversity,” Paredes said. “When our team suffers, sometimes people have doubts, but we never do.
“We know we will always fight to the maximum because we are representing this team, this shirt, the entire country. We have to thank the fans for all they do for us, the craziness that they keep singing for us the entire game. For us it is something incredible and to represent this shirt is a dream come true.”
Within minutes of the opening whistle on Friday, the stadium in Miami Gardens literally rocked as Argentina’s fans jumped up and down in unison, pumped their right arms in the air, and began chanting “Muchachos”, one of their many soccer anthems, which celebrates the team’s history and rallies behind the team to win a fourth World Cup.
When Messi scored with his trusty left foot in the 29th minute to give Argentina a 1-0 lead, the place went crazy and the deafening “Messi! Messi!” chants began.
And when Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte evened the score with a right footed shot from a difficult angle at the 59-minute mark, the stunned stadium went silent, minus two small spirited clots of Cape Verde fans in the East end zone seats.
The Cape Verde supporters also erupted in the 62nd minute when their beloved 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha denied Messi at point-blank range. Messi got at the end of a through ball in the box, was one-on-one with Vozinha, and the keeper blocked the legend’s shot with his mid-section. Vozinha later stopped a Messi free kick.
“I think I can say our team showed how willing they were to play this game, play this match,” said Cape Verde coach Bubista. “I don’t think any other team could have scored two goals against Argentina and then taken this game into extra time. I think that shows the character of our team.
“I think we did our best and we did it with bravery. I think that being able to equalize against Argentina twice, coming from behind, I think shows how resilient our team is and how strong our character is.”
The Argentina fans, determined to lift their team’s spirit and will their heroes to victory, belted out song after song. But the score remained knotted 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Bubista had warned that his 64th-ranked team would respect, but not be in awe of Messi and Argentina. The West African island nation became the smallest country ever to advance to the knockout stage after finishing runner up in Group H with a 0-0 draw against Spain, 2-2 draw against Uruguay at Hard Rock Stadium, and 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said: “Do you remember when they said we were on the easier side of the bracket? Now, I hope you realize that there is no easy opponent. We knew they were going to be a tough opponent.
“We never gave in and neither did the opponent, but we took the victory at the end. We need to remember this. We had a few blows and we never gave up. We always went for the victory. This is more important than anything else. Today we proved that we have character.”
Asked about getting emotional on the third goal, Scaloni said: “I just wanted for the match to be over. What can I tell you? Everybody thought this match was going to be a walk in the park. We were sure it wasn’t.
“Cape Verde, they’re a great national team. I’m sure they gave 200 percent tonight.”
Argentina dominated the first half and Cape Verde managed only one shot and none on goal.
Messi, as usual, was in the right place at the right time for his goal. He settled a Lisandro Martinez pass with his left foot and then launched his shot from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner, over Vozinha.
Messi, 39, continues to rewrite history.
He is in peak form and carrying Argentina’s hopes of repeating as champion on his shoulders. Argentina is attempting to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups.
Messi kicked off the tournament with a hat trick in Argentina’s opener against Algeria, followed that with a brace against Austria and then came off the bench to score his sixth goal against Jordan with a sublime free kick.
He is the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 20 goals.
He also broke a 56-year-old record for scoring streak in the tournament with goals in eight consecutive matches. Only Just Fontaine in 1958, and Brazil’s Jairzinho in 1970 had ever scored in six straight.
Messi now leads the Golden Boot race. France’s Kylian Mbappe is in second place with six goals, followed by Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane with five goals each.
Seeing Messi in South Florida is nothing new, as he plays for Inter Miami and has played matches with Argentina at Hard Rock Stadium, including the Copa America final in the summer of 2024.
But this was different. This is the World Cup and a spot in the Round of 16 was on the line. Fans showed up ready to party, singing their lungs out at bus stations, through the parking lots into the stadium gates and Fan Zone and then once they reached their seats.
Among the celebrities watching from VIP boxes were Shakira and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham. Other expected guests included Gloria Estefan, Manu Ginobili, Sam Reinhart, and Trevon Diggs.
Dark clouds hovered around the stadium just before kickoff, threatening to delay the start of the game, but Mother Nature apparently is a soccer fan, because the storm veered away.
This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Messi, Argentina survive Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time thriller to reach Round of 16."