Argentina had to dig deep into the night in Miami to overcome a heroic Cape Verde side in the Round of 32 of the World Cup. The Blue Sharks pushed the reigning world champions to extra time ( 3-2 aet ), twice leveling the score before ultimately succumbing. Led by a historic Lionel Messi, the Albiceleste will face Egypt on July 7th.

Messi's show against the wall of Blue Sharks

Facing an ultra-compact Cape Verdean defense, Argentina, as is often the case, relied on their captain and spiritual leader. Lionel Messi first found his range (14th, 17th minute) before showcasing his clinical finishing genius:

1. 29th minute: On a brilliant opening from Lisandro Martínez, the number 10 controls silkily with his left foot and fires past Vozinha under the bar ( 1-0 ).

History: With this goal, Lionel Messi scores his 7th goal in this World Cup (his 20th overall in the World Cup) and becomes the first player in history to score in 8 consecutive matches in the competition.

Dominant but not very dangerous afterwards, as exemplified by a long-range shot from Enzo Fernández (44th minute), the Argentinians thought they had done the hard part at halftime.

Cape Verde's audacity and the Vozinha miracle

After the break, the game turned on its head. Having already knocked out Spain and Uruguay in the group stage, Cape Verde raised their game. Deroy Duarte ignited the first spark (53rd minute) before sending the stadium into raptures:

1. 59th minute: Out wide on the right, Duarte unleashes a surgical cross-shot into the bottom corner of Emiliano Martínez's net ( 1-1 ).

It was then that Cape Verde's goalkeeper, Vozinha , decided to frustrate Lionel Messi. He won a monumental one-on-one (63rd minute), deflected a dangerous free kick (73rd minute), and then made a miraculous reflex save on his line in stoppage time (90+5). In between, Argentina came close to conceding a penalty after a suspicious handball by Pico Lopes (90th minute), which the referee deemed unintentional. The match went to extra time.

An extension that has gone down in history

The extra time period turns into a real psychological thriller:

1. 92nd minute: Lisandro Martínez takes advantage of a corner kick played to the far post to give Argentina the lead again with a powerful shot under the crossbar ( 2-1 ).
2. 103rd minute: Thinking the match was over, Argentina were surprised by a masterpiece. On the left wing, Sidny Lopes Cabral curled a magical shot into the far corner past Emiliano Martínez ( 2-2 ).
3. 111th minute: The final blow is finally delivered by Cristian Romero , who propels the ball into the back of the net with a furious, angled header ( 3-2 ).

In a final scare, Emiliano Martínez had to use his fingertips to snatch away a last attempt from Lopes Cabral (116th minute) and save his team.

Argentina had a close call, but they will indeed be in the round of 16 against the Pharaohs of Egypt. Cape Verde leaves the competition with their heads held high, having etched their name forever in World Cup history.