Argentina Survive Cape Verde Scare in Extra Time

Round of 32 · Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens · July 3, 2026

Argentina needed extra time to get past Cape Verde, winning 3-2 in Miami Gardens. Cape Verde, at their first World Cup, twice pulled level before an own goal settled the Round of 32 tie in the 111th minute.

Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead in the 29th minute, his seventh goal of the tournament, set up by Lisandro Martínez. Cape Verde equalized in the 59th minute through Deroy Duarte, from Ryan Mendes’ pass, and the game went to extra time at 1-1.

Lisandro Martínez scored three minutes into extra time, from Alexis Mac Allister’s pass. Sidny Lopes Cabral leveled again for Cape Verde in the 103rd minute, curling his shot into the top corner. Argentina finally won it in the 111th, when Diney Borges turned the ball into his own net.

Argentina had the ball, but Cape Verde limited them to four shots in the first half. Four minutes after the equalizer, Lionel Scaloni sent on Nicolás González and Julián Alvarez in the 63rd minute for Thiago Almada and Lautaro Martínez. Facundo Medina went off injured in the 86th minute and was replaced by Nicolás Tagliafico.

Cape Verde’s Kevin Lenini was booked in the 68th minute, and Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel, on as an extra-time substitute, in the 115th. Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito made his last two changes in the 100th minute, bringing on Gilson Tavares and Yannick Semedo.

Argentina finished with 22 shots, 10 of them on target, and 64% of the ball. They completed 779 of 849 passes, 92%, and created 2.16 expected goals to Cape Verde’s 0.45. Cape Verde had 16 shots, five on target, and matched Argentina with eight corners.

Messi was GoalServe’s highest-rated player. He had seven shots, six of them on target, and four key passes. Lisandro Martínez scored one and set up another from defense, while Mac Allister made four tackles. For Cape Verde, Vozinha made eight saves over the 120 minutes, taking his total for the tournament to 18, and Yannick Semedo created three chances in 20 minutes off the bench.

Scaloni started in a 4-4-2, with Messi and Lautaro Martínez up front and Enzo Fernández, Rodrigo De Paul, Mac Allister and Almada across midfield. Cape Verde lined up in a 4-1-4-1, with Nuno Da Costa as the lone striker and Lopes Cabral, the scorer of their second goal, in the back four.

Cape Verde leave the tournament unbeaten in normal time, after three group-stage draws.

Argentina will face Egypt in the Round of 16.

More: Argentina at the 2026 World Cup · Cape Verde at the 2026 World Cup

ESO Soccer Match Desk

Archive coverage. First published on ESO Soccer on October 2, 2026. The archive date reflects the events covered.