Argentina vs Cape Verde moved straight to the lineups on 4 July, with both sides naming their starting elevens for the 1/16 final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Месси is in Argentina's XI, and both teams now know the exact group that will begin the knockout match at 1:00 Moscow time.
Argentina enters as the defending world champion after beating France in the final tournament in Kатаре in 2022 on penalties after a 3:3 draw. Cape Verde arrived from second place in Group H, while Argentina came through Group J in first place, so the matchup pairs the holder of the trophy with a side that had already survived the group phase.
Argentina XI for the World Cup
Argentina's starting lineup is Э. Мартинес, Л. Мартинес, Ромеро, Медина, Молина, Де Пауль, Мак Аллистер, Фернандес, Месси, Альмада, and Л. Мартинес. That gives the defending champion a fully named XI before the bracket match begins, and it places Месси in the lineup from the start rather than as a late option.
The structure of a 1/16 final leaves no room for easing in. One lineup decision now defines the whole match plan, because the winner keeps moving through the плей-офф and the loser stops here.
Cape Verde's response
Cape Verde answered with Возинья, Боржеш, Лопес, С. Кабрал, Морейра, Ленини, Ж. Кабрал, Д. Дуарте, Л. Дуарте, Да Кошта, and Мендеш. The list mirrors Argentina's approach in one important way: both teams made their choice public before kickoff, so neither side is waiting to see who is fit or available once the match starts.
For Cape Verde, the most immediate practical detail is the same as for Argentina: the first eleven is set, the referee is Дрю Фишер of Canada, and the kickoff will come in Майами. That means the match begins with no lineup uncertainty left to resolve, only the question of which selection can handle the first knockout round better.
Дрю Фишер in Miami
Дрю Фишер will oversee the match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA, where Argentina and Cape Verde meet on 4 July in the чемпионат мира по футболу 2026 года. The tournament is being played across the USA, Canada, and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July, so this round-of-32 game sits right in the middle of the event's knockout phase.
That is the frame for readers tracking the bracket: Argentina is trying to defend a title it won in 2022, and Cape Verde is trying to turn a second-place finish in Group H into a longer run. The lineups leave one clean question hanging over the start in Miami — which eleven can make its selection count first?
