Cape Verde Argentina went to extra time, and Argentina escaped 3-2 after a 111th-minute own goal broke a 2-2 deadlock. Messi scored early, then the match swung into a late siege before Diney’s hand turned Cuti Romero’s header into the winner.
Messi Opens the Score
Argentina struck first in the 29th minute. Messi controlled a pass from Lisandro Martinez and finished left-footed under the crossbar for his seventh goal in this World Cup and his eighth consecutive World Cup match with a goal.
That opener did not settle anything. Cape Verde stayed in range, and Vozinha kept the margin from widening when he saved a Messi free kick during the pressure phase before halftime.
Deroy Duarte Answers
Cape Verde levelled the match in the 59th minute through Deroy Duarte. Ryan Mendes released him in the area, and the finish made it 1-1, which forced Argentina back into a tighter game than the scoreline at that stage suggested.
Scaloni reacted after the equalizer by sending on Julian Alvarez and Nico Gonzalez for Lautaro and Thiago Almada. The change did not remove the danger. Pico Lopes almost turned a cross from Molina into his own net while sliding to defend it, and Enzo Fernandez later had a shot saved by Vozinha at minute 45.
Diney’s Hand Decides It
The match still stood 2-2 at minute 111 when Messi delivered a corner from the left. Cuti Romero met it in the center of the area, the ball struck the hand of Edilson Alberto Monteiro Sanches Borges, and the play became an own goal that beat Vozinha.
Cape Verde still had one more look. Five minutes from the end of extra time, Sidney Lopes Cabral forced a big save from Dibu Martinez, but the equalizer never arrived and Argentina closed out a 3-2 result after two hours of pressure.
The win sends Scaloni’s team into the round of 16 against Egypt in the World Cup, with Messi now on 20 World Cup goals overall. Cape Verde left with a narrow defeat after twice pushing Argentina into danger and coming within one sequence of penalties.
