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The Albiceleste team scored the winning goal in the 111th minute, when a corner kick taken by Lionel Messi resulted in an own goal by defender Diney Borges, who deflected the ball into his own net while attempting to clear under pressure from Cristian Romero.
Messi had opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a brilliant finish after controlling a pass from Lisandro Martínez inside the box. However, Deroy Duarte equalized the match in the 59th minute, forcing the game to extend beyond 90 minutes.
In extra time, Lisandro Martínez put Argentina back in the lead, but Sidny Lopes Cabral responded with a spectacular shot to equalize once again and keep the African team’s dream alive.
When everything pointed to a penalty shootout, the action that decided the match arrived with Borges’ unfortunate own goal, although goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez still had to intervene with two decisive saves to prevent another equalizer.
With his goal, Messi reached seven goals in the 2026 World Cup and took the lead in the race for the Golden Boot, surpassing Kylian Mbappé by one goal. Additionally, the Argentine captain set a new record by scoring in eight consecutive World Cup matches and played his 30th match in the tournament’s history, extending his own record as the player with the most World Cup appearances.
After the match, Rodrigo De Paul praised his captain and teammate.
“It means a lot to me to be his friend. Friendship is one of the most important things we have, and I consider myself lucky to share these moments with him,” he expressed.
With this hard-fought victory, Argentina avoided one of the biggest upsets in recent World Cup history and sealed their qualification for the round of 16, while Cape Verde bids farewell to the tournament after delivering a memorable performance against one of the great favorites for the title.
