Messi's brilliance meets Cape Verde's fight in extra‑time thriller

Under the bright lights of the World Cup, Argentina edged past Cape Verde 3‑2 after a dramatic extra‑time battle, with Lionel Messi’s decisive involvement and a world‑class strike from Sidny Lopes Cabral keeping the island side in contention until the final whistle.

Argentina dominated the opening half, yet created only a handful of clear chances. Cape Verde, with limited possession, also struggled to generate big opportunities, keeping the contest tightly balanced.

The breakthrough arrived when former Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez delivered a superb pass to Lionel Messi, who calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Vozinha to give Argentina the lead.

In the second half, Cape Verde grew more threatening, and after just under sixty minutes Deroy Duarte – born in Rotterdam‑West – collected the ball near the box, fired a low shot past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to level the score.

Argentina responded swiftly, with Messi testing Vozinha again before the Argentine free‑kick into the top corner was denied by another spectacular save from the Cape Verde keeper. Regular time ended 1‑1, sending the match into extra time.

Extra time began with Messi delivering a corner that was headed on by Martinez, whose strike flew over Vozinha. Shortly after, Sidny Lopez Cabral produced an absolute world‑class goal to restore parity for Cape Verde.

The decisive moment came when Messi sent up a high corner that Cristian Romero flicked on, finding Diney Borges who tucked the ball home, securing the win for Argentina. Cape Verde pressed for another equaliser but could not find the net.

With the victory, Argentina will meet Egypt on Tuesday at 18:00 Dutch time in the round of 16. Cape Verde can nevertheless celebrate an unprecedented World Cup performance, even though their dream ended against the South American giants.