Messi (Argentina) won against Cape Verde, but there are many things to improve on.
Leo Messi managed to push Argentina to the next round of the World Cup, but as John Arnold explained… this match should be a wake-up call for the team.
MIAMI — After the most exciting match of the 2026 World Cup, two things are true. Cape Verde’s ability was vastly underestimated and Argentina really should have done better.
The reigning World Cup champions, who have one of the world’s best players, were first-time players in the tournament and needed the extra time to send the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup finals. The final score of 3-2 on Friday, July 3rd never seemed inevitable.
Cape Verde is more than just a great story. They were a good team that defended well and were not afraid to chase the giants. There was a really great performance from Vosinha, who went from goalkeeper to Instagram celebrity, some great team defense, and some great performances from a few players in attack who kept the defense honest.
And just like in 2022, Argentina sounded a rude alarm from an unexpected place. After losing to Saudi Arabia in their first match last time, they eagerly answered the call. Now they are older too. There are extra games. It will be difficult to rise again, but Argentina must do so if they are to add another star to their badge.
This was supposed to be the easiest of the potential Round of 32 matchups. Argentina avoided facing Spain and Uruguay, in part because Cape Verde held off both former world champions to a draw.
On Friday night they annoyed others greatly.
Argentina started well, with Lionel Messi scoring in the 29th minute. Everything seemed to be going according to script.
However, after Messi’s goal, Argentina conceded a point.
“The most difficult thing for us was to find the opening goal. From there we thought we would find our game and settle down, but it was quite the opposite,” Messi said after the match. “We lost the ball. We fell back. We didn’t put pressure on very well. They attacked us with weapons. We knew it was going to be difficult. It’s a do-or-die game. Nobody gives you anything.”
There were five shots on target in the second half, including two free kicks from Messi, who were blocked by Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper. However, in open play Argentina continued to do what they always do. We moved the ball around and looked for weaknesses.
Just couldn’t find anything.
My emotions were too suppressed. There’s no urgency at all. Argentina acted like a team that always wins. That’s no surprise, but one of the reasons Argentina always wins is because they generally know how to manage the game, when to push and when to slow down. Tonight, that instinct was gone.
This was Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni’s 100th game in charge of his national team. It may be a recent bias, but the coach feels he just learned his biggest lesson.
“Out of all 100 games, this was the game that best showed my personality as a coach,” he said at the post-game press conference. “I think it’s definitely a game that will help me as a coach. It’s 100 points, so we should win. If we had lost, it would have been a sad result. So I’m happy.”
Messi is another reason why Argentina always wins, but it is clear that he alone cannot win the World Cup. Argentina’s next match will be against Egypt in the round of 16. If Argentina wins that, they could face Colombia in the quarter-finals and face a rematch in the Copa America final. And if Argentina make it to the last four, they will need someone to step up, especially to score goals.
In the end, it was the center back who came to Messi’s rescue at the Miami Stadium. Lisandro Martinez scored a goal in extra time just after the 30th minute started, hitting the roof of the net. Cristian “Cuti” Romero then deflected Messi’s corner kick into the arm of a Cape Verde defender and headed home to give Argentina their third and final lead.
“When I saw my teammates’ faces, I knew we were going to get another point. That gave me a little bit of composure,” Martinez said. “Cutie, I understand.”
However, even after that necessary goal, Cape Verde had a better chance of drawing than Argentina had to lead by two points in the end, but they did not give up.
Argentina narrowly cleared this first knockout hurdle, but the next four teams will only get taller and taller. There are still better goalies in this tournament. More and more teams will be able to defend resolutely and hit forward.
Argentina needs to raise their level if they are to send Messi off with another trophy.
