Argentina survive Cape Verde scare, reach last 16

Published On 04 Jul, 2026
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Holders Argentina survived a monumental scare before defeating Cape Verde 3-2 in an all-time World Cup classic on Friday as Egypt beat Australia to reach the last 16.

Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, rocked Lionel Messi's Argentina with two stunning equalisers to raise the prospect of pulling off the greatest upset in World Cup history at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

But a Diney Borges own goal, under pressure from Argentina's Cristian Romero, in the 111th minute finally broke Cape Verde's resistance.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said losing to Cape Verde "would have been madness."

It was "a very tough match; you always have to take the positives —this team (Argentina) never gives up," Scaloni said.

"We have to congratulate the opponent; when people say there are no easy opponents, they proved today that they are a great team," he added.

Argentina, who are bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1962, will play Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta for a place in the quarter-finals.

But the South Americans were forced to cling on for victory against a team ranked 65 places below them by world governing body FIFA.

Messi had fired Argentina into the lead with a superb goal on 29 minutes, setting the reigning world champions on course for what most assumed would be a routine win.

But Deroy Duarte's 59th-minute equaliser left Argentina shellshocked, and the African qualifiers then held on improbably to force extra-time.

Lisandro Martinez restored Argentina's lead in the 92nd minute, but once again Cape Verde hit back, Sidny Lopes Cabral curling in a magnificent second on 103 minutes.

Argentina though grabbed the winner in the second period of extra-time before hanging on to clinch victory.

"What we achieved, we wanted to show what was possible for small nations," Cape Verde's Irish-born defensive stalwart Pico Lopes said afterwards. "With big hearts, that you can believe, and dream anything is possible."