Despite being the defending World Cup champions, Argentina is moving on by the skin of its teeth. La Albiceleste pulled to a 3-2 Round of 32 win over Cape Verde in extra time, but not before the Blue Sharks stunned the defending champs with two equalizing goals to stay alive.
It was one of the greatest underdog performances in the tournament’s history, as Cape Verde’s defense continued to hold strong in the face of a relentless Argentinian attack. Argentina had 22 shots, with 10 on target, but the Blue Sharks continued to break up set pieces and hold the score.
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Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who became a World Cup hero after forcing a draw with Spain in the group stage, had another outstanding night, with eight saves. Four of those were on Lionel Messi alone, including two on direct free kicks within Messi’s ideal range — and one while Vozinha was still trying to set Cape Verde’s wall.
Though Argentina entered the game as a significant favorite, La Albiceleste never really pulled ahead of the wily Blue Sharks. Messi gave Argentina an early lead in the 29th minute, getting a brilliant finish off a breakaway to score his seventh goal of the tournament and pull back into the Golden Boot lead.
But in the second half, Deroy Duarte hit a heroic 59th-minute strike to draw things level and eventually send the game to extra time.
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Still, it took only two minutes of extra time for Lisandro Martínez to add to his assist on Messi’s goal with a great finish of his own off the back post. That seemed to seal things for Argentina again — before Sidny Lopes Cabral hit a stunning, curling equalizer in the 103rd minute to keep Cape Verde’s hopes alive. Lopes Cabral then immediately ran into the stands to celebrate, fully aware of the importance of the moment.
Unfortunately, the two magical equalizers weren’t enough to get the win. In the second extra time period, Cristian Romero rose above the Cape Verde defense to send in a header off a Messi corner kick in the 111th minute. It was later credited as an own goal to Diney Borges, with the ball deflecting off the Blue Sharks defender before slipping past Vozinha.
So Argentina narrowly escapes to advance to the Round of 16, where it will face Egypt, which defeated Australia in penalties earlier on Friday. But even in the loss, Cape Verde — a tiny African archipelago, the second-smallest nation to ever compete in the tournament — secures its legacy, going from debutante to group runner-up, and nearly stunning two of the biggest soccer superpowers (Spain and Argentina) on the way.
