The world champions defeated the tournament debutants in a difficult battle at the 1/16 final stage and made it to the next stage. Argentina opened the scoring thanks to a goal from Messi, who again demonstrated his leadership qualities. However, Cape Verde quickly regained parity and continued to resist. In both halves of the match, the teams did not concede to each other, actively responding to the opponents’ counterattacks, which led to the game going into extra time. In overtime, the teams exchanged goals again: Martinez scored for Argentina, and Cabral responded with a magnificent shot into the top nine2. However, the decisive moment came in the 111th minute - after a corner, Messi's shot bounced off defender Borges and ended up in the goal, giving Argentina victory. They will meet Egypt in the 1/8 finals. Statistics of the match Argentina - Cape Verde 1/16 finals of the World Cup? 2026 Argentina - Cape Verde 3:2 (OT, 1:1) Goals:  Messi 29, Lisandro Martinez 92, Borges 111, (own goal) - L. Duarte 59, C. Cabral 103 Expected goals (xG):  2. 26 - 0. 47 Ball possession: 64% - 36% Shots: 22 - 16 Shots on target: 10 - 4 Corners: 8 - 8 Fouls: 13 - 12 Argentina: E. Martinez - Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Medina - Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, De Paul, Almada - Messi, Lautaro Martinez. Cape Verde:  Vozinha - Moreira, Borges, P. Lopes, S. Cabral - Pina, Mendes, L. Duarte, D. Duarte - F. Cabral, N. da Costa. Warnings:  Montiel - Pina. Egypt defeated Australia and made it to the 1/8 finals of the 2026 World Cup. News on Telegram and WhatsApp. Subscribe to our channels https://t. me/korrespondentnet and WhatsApp.