Argentina wriggled their way through Cape Verde to survive the biggest upset in the history of the World Cup with a 3-2 victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match at Miami Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, United States (US) on Friday 3 July, 2026.
The White and Sky Blue needed extra time to eventually overcome the Blue Sharks and clinch their place in the Round of 16 of the tournament.
Cape Verde, culturally rich volcanic archipelago, located off the coast of West Africa, emerged as the lowest-ranked nation ever to scale through to the World Cup knockouts, however, had the muscles to force Argentina to their limits and close to elimination in one of the terrific World Cup matches.
The South Americans opened scoring in the 29th minute after Inter Miami forward, Lionel Messi, converted an assist from Manchester United defender, Lisandro Martinez, but, in the 59th minute, the Blue Sharks shocked the reigning World Champions with the leveller through Deroy Duarte.
Duarte squeezed his effort into the far corner to bring Cape Verde back into the game.
After a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, the showdown went straight into extra time, and in the 92nd minute, Martinez returned Argentina in front with Alexis Mac Allister’s assist, but, the Cape Verdeans fought back and found the leveller through Sidny Lopes Cabral in the 103rd minute.
Cabral’s leveller shocked the entire Miami Stadium and the World of football as he curled the ball beautifully to bring Cape Verde back into the clash.
Probably, the question in the minds of the Argentines was, how do we get out of here victorious? Is this how we go down to an underdog?
As time went on, Argentina started to contend with tension, while, Cape Verde were eyeing to pull off the biggest upset in the World Cup history in Miami.
Luckily for the White and Sky Blue, Cristian Romero’s header from a corner deflected off Borges to rescue win for Lionel Scaloni’s side.
Argentina, surviving the scare in Miami, after eventually downing a stubborn Cape Verde on Friday; Scaloni’s White and Sky Blue will now face Egypt in the Round of 16 of the tournament.
In another Round of 32 game, Egypt defeated Australia 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the showdown finished 1-1.
Photo: Lionel Messi scores opener for Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 against Cape Verde in Miami, US on Friday
