MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Lionel Messi and Argentina survived a far tougher test than expected Friday, edging Cape Verde 3-2 to move into the World Cup Round of 16. The defending champions were pushed deep into extra time by the tournament’s surprise story before finally finding a way past the small island nation.
Argentina’s decisive breakthrough came in the 111th minute, when Cristian Romero’s header took a deflection off Cape Verde defender Diney Borges and was recorded as an own goal. Messi had opened the scoring in regulation with his record-extending 20th career World Cup goal, while Lisandro Martinez struck in the 103rd minute to give Argentina a 2-1 lead in extra time.
Cape Verde refused to fade quietly. Sidny Lopes Cabral and Deroy Duarte each delivered equalizers, silencing stretches of a heavily pro-Argentina crowd in South Florida and keeping the underdogs in the match until the closing moments.
With the win, Argentina advanced to a Tuesday matchup in Atlanta against Egypt, which moved on earlier Friday by defeating Australia in a penalty shootout.
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Cape Verde’s World Cup debut will still be remembered as one of the competition’s most unexpected and compelling runs. Led by the outstanding play of 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, the nation off Africa’s western coast became the smallest country ever to reach the knockout stage after earning surprising draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Vozinha was exceptional again against Argentina, finishing with 10 saves, including five on attempts from Messi.
Messi’s goal came in vintage fashion in the 29th minute. After timing his run behind the Cape Verde back line, he met a lofted ball from Martinez, brought it under control with a quick touch and drove his finish high past Vozinha to put Argentina ahead 1-0.
The Argentina captain now has seven goals in the tournament, one more than France’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot. Messi also widened his World Cup scoring record, moving two goals ahead of Mbappé on the all-time list, and has scored 12 goals during his record eight-match World Cup scoring streak.
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