Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time to reach knockout stage

Lionel Messi scored his 20th World Cup goal as Argentina defeated Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time to reach the Round of 16. Cape Verde impressed in their World Cup debut, taking the defending champions to the final minutes before bowing out

Miami Gardens: Lionel Messi and Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time on Friday to advance to the World Cup Round of 16 in a thrilling match in which the tiny island nation challenged the reigning champions until the final minutes.

The go-ahead goal for Argentina was credited as an own goal after Cristian Romero’s header deflected off Cape Verde’s Diney Borges in the 111th minute.

---

Messi scored early in regulation, his record-extending 20th World Cup career goal. Lisandro Martinez scored in the 103rd minute to put Argentina ahead 2-1.

Sidny Lopes Cabral and Deroy Duarte scored for Cape Verde, with both goals equalising and stunning the pro-Argentina crowd in South Florida.

Argentina advanced to face Egypt, which beat Australia in a penalty shootout earlier on Friday, in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Cape Verde’s memorable World Cup debut was a stunning run that few outside the tiny island nation off the western coast of Africa could have predicted.

Behind the stellar performance of 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, Cape Verde became the smallest country to reach the knockout stage, securing surprising draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

Vozinha made 10 saves against Argentina, including five against Messi.

Messi added another brilliant goal to his record, sneaking behind the Cape Verde defence with a well-timed run as Martinez lofted a pass towards him. He took a quick touch before hammering the ball into the roof of the net past Vozinha to give Argentina a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.

The Argentina captain has seven goals in this tournament, one more than France’s Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race as the top scorer in this year’s World Cup. He also extended his World Cup scoring record, moving two goals ahead of Mbappe on the all-time list. He has scored 12 goals during his record eight-match scoring streak.