Argentina vs Cape Verde LIVE, FIFA World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi has scored seven goals for Argentina so far at the World Cup. (AP Photo)Argentina vs Cape Verde World Cup 2026 Match Highlights: Cristian Romero scored a 110th-minute winner to send Argentina to the last 16 with a 3-2 victory over Cape Verde in Miami at the FIFA World Cup. Tiny Cape Verde, first timers at the FIFA World Cup, had dragged defending champions Argentina to extra time after both sides were deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes. In the first period of extra time, Lisandro Martinez scored in the 93rd minute, only to see Sidny Lopes Cabral score a contender for the goal of the tournament to bring the scores level at 2-2. Finally, Romero scored Argentina’s third goal.
Earlier, Lionel Messi scored in the 29th minute to give Argentina a 1-0 lead heading into half-time. But Deroy Duarte scored in the 59th minute to restore parity, and it’s stayed that way till the 90th minute. Messi, who had become the only player in history to play 30 FIFA World Cup games at kick-off, also became the first player to cross the 20-goal mark at FIFA World Cups. This was Messi’s 7th goal in the ongoing edition of the World Cup, which makes him the Golden Boot leader ahead of Kylian Mbappe. The goal also means he’s scored in his last 8 appearances at the FIFA World Cup.
It’s a David vs Goliath clash between defending champions Argentina and Cape Verde, the smallest nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Argentina had thumped all their opponents so far, brushing aside Algeria, Austria and Jordan. Messi has scored seven of the team’s 10 goals. Cape Verde, meanwhile, have conceded just two goals in the group stages while staying undefeated through the group stages. It’s literally a clash between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.
Norway, England, France, Spain, Brazil and Portugal have all clinched spots in the round of 16; Argentina and Messi need a win over Cape Verde to join them. The Golden Boot is something Messi has never won. He finished second in that race with seven goals at the 2022 World Cup, one behind Mbappé, and tied for third with four goals at the 2014 World Cup.
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Tiny Cape Verde, population of just over 5 lakh people, have pushed mighty Argentina, the defending champions, to their limits and dragged them through extra time before losing 2-3.
Argentina took the lead twice before seeing Cape Verde overhaul them twice. Finally, a goal from Romero in the 100th minute proved to be deal sealer!
Argentina are through to the last 16 stage. Messi is on top of the Golden Boot standings with seven goals.
Tiny Cape Verde have reacted with such heart after falling behind for the third time. They have had at least three chances at Emiliano Martinez's goal. The third chance is an offside, but they are keeping the defending champions on their toes as the end of this game nears.
Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde
For the third time in this game, Argentina have the lead! Off a corner, which Lionel Messi takes, Cristian Romero goes flying to get his head on the ball and send the ball past Vozinha. Romero scores in the 110th minute as Argentina lead 3-2!
This leaves Cape Verde 10 more minutes to level again like they have done twice already in this game!
Quarter of an hour left before we have to resort to penalties to decide a winner. At this World Cup, penalties have not been kind to favourites, with Germany and Netherlands being eliminated via spotkicks.
Can Argentina avoid that fate? We'll know soon enough!
WHAT A GOAL! A contender for goal of the tournament for sure! Lopes Cabral curls the ball into the goal from the corner of the box to drag this round of 32 game level at 2-2! He took one touch on the ball to takes the ball into the box, and then with his second touch, sent the ball past a couple of defenders and the keeper.
Read that again!
Defending champions Argentina are stuck at 2-2 against first-timers Cape Verde in extra time!
Lisandro Martinez scores in the 93rd minute to put Argentina in the lead again after the defending champions were dragged into extra time by first-timers Cape Verde in their Round of 32 clash.
Alexis Mac Allister fed Martinez the ball. And he created space before sending the ball into goal!
It was Martinez who had set up Argentina's first goal with that delightful chipped pass to Messi. And now when Argentina really need a goal, he's come through again.
ARGENTINA LEAD 2-1
What a World Cup Cabo Verde are having. The tiny nation have dragged Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina to extra time after both teams are deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes.
And we have 8 minutes of added time to this second half as both teams are level at 1-1 at 90 mins. That's 8 minutes of Messi trying to score a winner for Argentina.
Thanks to Duarte's goal in the 59th minute, Capo Verde have managed to hold Argentina to a 1-1 scoreline after 85 minutes. Another 5 minutes and Cape Verde will be able to brag that they held four teams to draws in the 90 minutes at the World Cup. Of course Argentina might score the winner or more in extra time. But for now, Cape Verde have managed to cling onto a drawish scoreline in 90- mins.
From Pritish Raj:
After the Cape Verde goal, one of the commentators on broadcast said, "Can't really believe their luck."
But the goal was anything but lucky. It was quick thinking from skipper Ryan Mendes who went for a low pass and Deroy Duarte finished from a tight angle beating both Lisandro Martinez and Emi Martinez.
Argentina almost sneak the ball into goal past Vozinha after a cross from the right flank goes past the diving keeper. But before an Argentina player can get on the end of the cross,Lopes slides in and turns the ball outside for a corner.
Desperate last-ditch defending there from Cape Verde.
After 80 minutes, ARG 0-0 CPV
Vozinha prevents Messi from scoring his second goal of the game. Argentina earn a free kick from outside the box. Messi takes a quick one that flies over the wall and looks like it is headed into the goal. But Vozinha, who looked like he was not ready initially, makes up space and reaches the ball to palm it away.
What quick reflexes by the Capo Verde goalkeeper, who had also frustrated former champions Spain in their World Cup opener.
Messi looks like he cannot believe it.
And the ball is turned away for a corner. Not much comes off of it.
Still deadlocked at 1-1
Cabo Verde have scored! And it's 1-1 now with just ender 60 minutes gone!
Deroy Duarte scores a goal that stuns the partisan crowd at the stadium. levels score for Capo Verde. Argentina came to the second half look much more relaxed. the tempo changed, the intensity dropped. And they paid the price as Cabo Verde are level.
A quarter-backing pass form Lionel Messi from Argentina's half from the left to the right. The ball falls inside the Cabo Verde box where Almada almost gets to the ball. Almada gets a foot on the ball, but the ball runs out.
In the first half, Cabo Verde did not threaten Emiliano Martinez's goal at all. They will want to change that in the next 45 minutes if they are to avoid their first defeat of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and elimination from the tournament.
Updated Golden Boot race
1 Lionel Messi (Argentina) 7 goals 0 assists
2 Kylian Mbappé (France): 6 goals 2 assists
3 Erling Haaland (Norway) 5 goals 0 assists
4 Harry Kane (England) 5 goals 0 assist
5 Ousmane Dembélé (France) 4 goals 2 assists
6 Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) 4 goals 1 assist
7 Vinícius Júnior (Brazil) 4 goals 1 assist
8 Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal) 4 goals 1 assist
The 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha pulls off a brilliant save from a shot by Enzo Fernandez. That one looked like it was destined for goal, but Vozinha had other plans.
Still 1-0 as we close in on half-time in this game.
Lionel Messi (who else!) scores to give Argentina a 1-0 lead over Cabo Verde in their Round of 32 game. This is Messi's 20th FIFA World Cup goal and his 7th in this World Cup, which makes him the Golden Boot leader, ahead of Mbappe.
Now he's scored in his last 8 appearances at the FIFA World Cup.
The most delightful of finishes from Messi, who is fed the ball by Lisandro Martinez with a chip from outside the box. Running towards goal from the right, Messi controls the ball with the outside of his left boot, waits for it to bounce and then lifts it past the keeper Vozinha for a goal!
BEAUTIFUL!
It's GOALLESS as we pause for the 1st half hydration break in Miami. Vozinha and Cabo Verde have managed to keep Argentina and Messi quiet so far.
Who would have thunk?!
Messi's freekick and his shot that trickled wide earlier on in the game were Argentina's best attempts so far.
We're past the 20-minute mark in Miami! And barring a couple of feeble shots from Messi, there's not been much in this game.
63 per cent of the ball for Argentina, 33 per cent for Cabo Verde. yet, no goals!
Argentina have a freekick from outside the box. And Messi and De Paul stand over the ball. Messi tries to take the shot past the wall, which does its job, and Vozinha does the rest, scooping the ball up.
Cabo Verde holding on.
Messi has his first shot at goal! Not the best angles, he's at a really tight angle on the left of goal. And the ball trickles outside to the right of the goal. here's your reminder kids: even the greatest footballer in the world can miss sometimes.
After 13 minutes, ARG 0-0 CPV
Nine minutes done and no goals yet. Just a couple of touches of the ball for Messi so far. And the Capo Verde keeper Vozinha decides to raise the risk level of this game by hoodwinking an Argentinian forward even though he's the last man on the ball.
here we go! Cabo Verde in navy blue, Argentina in the blue and white strip jersey get us started in Miami. Lionel Messi makes history as the only player to play 30 FIFA World Cup games.
National anthems time at the moment in Miami. Messi leads out the Argentina side just like he has in previous games at the World Cup.
We're minutes away from kickoff!
A look at the leading goalscorers in FIFA World Cup 2026
1 Kylian Mbappé (France): 6 goals 2 assists
2 Lionel Messi (Argentina) 6 goals 0 assists
3 Erling Haaland (Norway) 5 goals 0 assists
4 Harry Kane (England) 5 goals 0 assists
5 Ousmane Dembélé (France) 4 goals 2 assists
6 Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) 4 goals 1 assist
7 Vinícius Júnior (Brazil) 4 goals 1 assist
8 Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal) 4 goals 1 assist
Goalkeeper Vozinha, who told FIFA how, at his father's insistence, he was almost named not Josimar, but Jorge Valdano, after the Argentina striker who lifted the World Cup alongside Diego Maradona in 1986. The only reason it never happened was that, at the time, foreign names were not permitted by the authorities.
Here are the XI players who will take the field for Cabo Verde today
1 VOZINHA
3 BORGES
4 LOPES
6 PINA
7 CABRAL
13 CABRAL
14 DUARTE
15 DUARTE
20 MENDES C
21 COSTA
22 MOREIRA
Here are the XI players who will take the field for Argentina today
23 MARTINEZ
6 MARTINEZ
7 DE PAUL
10 MESSI (captain)
13 ROMERO
16 ALMADA
20 MAC ALLISTER
22 MARTINEZ
24 FERNANDEZ
25 MEDINA
26 MOLINA
Messi didn't start Argentina's final group game against Jordan because the side had already clinched first place in Group J, and the game was further meaningless because Jordan was already eliminated from the knockout stage.
He finally stepped onto the field in the 60th minute, replacing Lautaro Martinez.
Messi scored on a free kick in the 80th minute after being taken down just outside the penalty area. The low kick barely above the grass surface split two Jordan defenders into the left corner of the net.
“Today he could have played 90 minutes,” Scaloni said after Messi came on as a sub and still scored. “He wanted his teammates to have time on the pitch and to save himself also for what’s coming up now. He doesn’t think so much about the numbers that people are talking about.”
Messi has had plenty of success scoring at the World Cup, but he has a long way to go to break the all-time record of 13 goals in a single edition set by France forward Just Fontaine at the 1958 tournament in Sweden. Fontaine is one of three players who has reached double figures is goals scored during a single tournament. The others are Hungary's Sándor Kocsis (11 goals in 1954) and West Germany's Gerd Müller (10 in 1970). Fontaine, by the way, only played in one World Cup; Messi is playing in his sixth.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said it's not a fluke that Cape Verde advanced.
“We are not surprised, to be honest,” Scaloni said. “They are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that’s what we will do.”
Speaking about the game against Lionel Messi and his Argentina, Cape Verde coach Bubista said: “This is the most important match in our history. So, we are being responsible and also trying to enjoy the match. We did not reach this stage by chance. It was on our own merits and we want to show the world our qualities, our values and that there’s a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football.”
Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina will look to claim one of the final spots in the round of 16 at the World Cup on Friday night when they face Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Florida.
To no one's surprise, Messi has been one of the biggest stars of the tournament with six goals, tied for the most with France’s Kylian Mbappe. Messi is now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 19 goals, but Mbappe only one behind after scoring twice in France’s 3-0 win over Sweden.
Messi, however, has played one fewer game at this year's tournament and would seemingly have a golden opportunity to take a step toward winning the Golden Boot when Argentina faces a Cape Verde team devoid of any star players.
Messi has been on an absolute goal-scoring tear, with at least one goal in his last seven World Cup matches going back to 2022 — something no men's player has ever accomplished in the tournament's history. He has 11 goals in those seven games, pushing his career total to 19. That's also the most in World Cup history, one ahead of Mbappé.
In his piece for The Indian Express, Sriram Veera noted how at 38, Messi has stopped running. That is what makes him impossible to stop.
Joao Pedro, who faced him at the Copa America, explained it on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel. “It’s difficult to explain him, you know? He’s not tall, he don’t look strong, but he hold players, he don’t drop, he stay there. The team run for him. Every ball they getting back, they pass to Messi. You know, he move and they come. It’s like how you say, magic.” He paused. “If he get the ball near to the area” [laughter] “problems”.
“At Inter Miami, and across the 2024 Copa America, Messi walks more than he runs,” Guillem Balague, the Spanish football writer and Messi biographer, wrote for the BBC. “Critics once used this against him. Now it reads as mastery.”
A look at the leading goalscorers in FIFA World Cup 2026:
1 Kylian Mbappé (France): 6 goals 2 assists
2 Lionel Messi (Argentina) 6 goals 0 assists
3 Erling Haaland (Norway) 5 goals 0 assists
4 Harry Kane (England) 5 goals 0 assists
5 Ousmane Dembélé (France) 4 goals 2 assists
6 Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) 4 goals 1 assist
7 Vinícius Júnior (Brazil) 4 goals 1 assist
8 Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal) 4 goals 1 assist
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the FIFA World Cup round of 32 clash between Argentina and Cabo Verde, a David vs Goliath clash if ever there was one.
Six goals each, but Mbappe leads Messi in Golden Boot race thanks to crucial assist rule
The FIFA World Cup 2026 has truly been a goalfest, with one of the most exciting Golden Boot races unfolding across the Americas.
All the expected names have delivered for their respective teams as the fight for the world title intensifies. The list of leading goal scorers is led by two giants of contemporary football – Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Legendary Argentine Messi averages two goals per match at this edition, with six goals to his name in the three games he has played so far.
