Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde: After being trailed twice in sensational fashion, the World Cup holders finally defeated the African nation who made their mark on the competition.
Cape Verde was one of the great stories of this World Cup.
Cape Verde weren’t going to leave this World Cup without a fight, and even if Argentina overwhelmed them in the end, they weren’t going to go away quietly.
The African nation started off with a goalless draw with Spain that felt like a victory and turned out to be one of the great stories of the tournament. They had their best result against Uruguay a few days ago, but now they find themselves facing their highest mountain yet in Miami.
Cape Verde looked to be facing an impossible trip heading into the second half when Lionel Messi’s stunning opening goal gave Argentina a 1-0 lead.
But when Deroy Duarte’s angled equalizer silenced the majority of the crowd, the small island of just over 500,000 people off the west coast of Africa caught fire, and the World Cup’s brave midgets ensured the game was in their hands.
Goalkeeper Bosinha has been one of the stars of this World Cup, staring down Messi immediately after Cape Verde’s equalizer to win the game. He solidly blocked the attack of the Argentine, who lacked the clinical edge of his right foot, and kept his game level going into the second rehydration break.
Messi would be denied four minutes into added time, but it was Cape Verde’s last chance in normal times to force extra time and hold on to hopes of arguably the biggest shock in World Cup history.
Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez must have been thinking of ending the game in the opening minutes of extra time. The defender reached the back post from a corner kick and was given plenty of time and space before taking a touch and firing a shot at the near post.
Deroy Duarte scored a shocking equalizer against Cape Verde in the second half.
However, Cape Verde refused to read the script and Sidney López scored what was arguably the goal of the tournament. He cut in from the left and fired a shot into the top corner of the goal.
The celebration led him into the stands and, despite the best efforts of security, he stood beside a small group of Cape Verde fans waiting for someone to give him a hug. Time seemed to stand still until López’s goal hit the net, but it would undoubtedly be the moment of his career.
The third time was indeed the charm for Argentina. Cristian Romero headed in Messi’s corner kick to put the South Americans ahead with less than 10 minutes remaining. A defender reacted to Messi’s outswinging corner kick, and his header deflected inside Bosinha.
Cristian Romero’s goal finally gave Argentina a goal.
When the team left the stadium with the amulet on their backs before the match, Messi and the Argentina national team repeated it, in a scene reminiscent of a boxer’s ring walk.
There is still not much for the Inter Miami star to achieve, but winning the Golden Boot is on that incredibly small list. He has seen the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane score in the last 16 games, but tasted victory in all three of them. Messi’s goal in Miami gave him a one-point lead over Mbappe heading into the quarterfinals.
The ball over the top of Martinez was controlled beautifully by Messi, who finished with the next touch to put his country ahead and continue their rise towards one of the few accolades they have so far eluded.
Earlier in the evening, Mohamed Salah scored an audacious panenka as Egypt defeated Australia in a penalty shootout. They have reached the last eight for the first time in their history and now face the task of defeating the holders.
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