Key Points
- Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time in the World Cup Round of 32 on July 3.
- Lionel Messi opened the scoring; Cape Verde twice fought level.
- Cristian Romero's header deflected in off Diney Borges for the winner.
- Argentina advance to face Egypt; Cape Verde exit on their World Cup debut.
The reigning champions nearly became the story of the wrong kind. Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time in the Round of 32 in Miami on Friday, escaping what would have been the biggest upset in World Cup history and booking a last-16 meeting with Egypt.
Argentina went on to reach the semifinals, beating Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
It started as business as usual. Lionel Messi curled in a sublime opener that, per Fox Sports, was his 20th career World Cup goal — a men's record — and came in an eighth straight World Cup match with a goal. Then Cape Verde refused to read the script. Deroy Duarte squeezed an effort into the far corner just before the hour to level it, and a laboured Argentina limped to extra time at 1-1.
The drama only escalated. Lisandro Martínez whipped Argentina back ahead in the second minute of extra time, but Sidny Lopes Cabral answered in the 103rd with a curling strike from the edge of the box — arguably the goal of the tournament — to stun Miami and make it 2-2. The winner was scrappier than the rest: Cristian Romero's header off a Messi corner deflected in off defender Diney Borges. Goalkeeper Vozinha, heroic all night with eight saves, could do nothing about the own goal.
Cape Verde leave, but they leave as the team of this World Cup. A nation of roughly 500,000 that held Spain to a scoreless draw on debut and reached the knockouts as the smallest country ever to advance came within a deflection of eliminating the world champions. That is the promise of the expanded 48-team field made real — the smallest nations are not just showing up in the first 32-team knockout bracket, they are nearly winning in it. Argentina survived; Cape Verde announced itself.
Source: ESPN, Sky Sports, Fox Sports.
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