Miami [US], July 4 (ANI): Following a hard-fought match, it was all respect, love and admiration between defending champions Argentina and FIFA World Cup debutants Cabo Verde, who bowed out of the tournament with heads held high despite defeat.
When fans worldwide switched their devices on, many would have anticipated Lionel Messi’s magic to outclass a valiant Cabo Verde, resulting in a rather easy win. But Cabo Verde and their goalie Vozinha almost spoiled the party of a billion hearts beating for Messi, producing numerous saves despite Messi opening the scoring in 29th minute and Cabo Verde producing an equaliser in the 59th minute. While Argentina got the lead thanks to Lisardo Martinez in the 92nd minute, a Sidney Lopes strike in the 103rd minute intensified the action. Thanks to an own goal from Diney Borges, due to an unlucky deflection, Messi and his men could breathe in peace, with their round of 16 spot sealed.
After the match, Vozinha and Messi, two of this tournament’s age defying wizards, one a goal-saving wall and the other an unstoppable goal-scoring juggernaut, shook hands in a show of respect.
Messi continued his record-breaking spree at the ongoing FIFA World Cup continued as he surpassed late compatriot and football wizard Diego Maradona for most assists in the history of the FIFA World Cup, making it a total of nine assists, surpassing Maradona’s previously all-time highest total of eight, as per 433.
Messi also became the first player in tournament history to score in eight consecutive World Cup matches during Argentina’s Round of 32 clash against Cabo Verde in Miami. The strike also took Messi’s overall World Cup tally to 20 goals, further cementing his status among the greatest players in the tournament’s history. With the goal, Messi also became the first footballer to score seven goals in two separate FIFA World Cup editions.
After netting seven times during Argentina’s triumphant 2022 campaign in Qatar, the 39-year-old has now matched that tally at the ongoing 2026 tournament, where he has once again emerged as one of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot with seven goals.
Vozinha also had a history-making FIFA WC, producing seven saves against Spain, the European champions, while he made a total of eight saves for Argentina (as per ESPN FC), the biggest match of his match. Vozinha made a total of 18 saves in this tournament; the only goalies aged 40 or older to register more saves at a single WC are Peter Shilton (28 in 1990 for England) and Dino Zoff (27 in 1982 for Italy), as per OptaJoe.
Only Paraguay’s Orlando Gill (19), and Curacao’s Ely Room (20) made more saves than him during the tournament.
Cabo Verde played out unbeaten against three world champion teams, the 2010 champions and third-ranked Spain, the 19th-ranked two-time champions Uruguay and now the second-placed, defending champions Argentina, showcasing that they do belong to the biggest of the stages. In all, they scored four goals, conceded five, drew three matches and lost one.
Cabo Verde has carved out their own identity, but that did not stop their players from being absolute fanboys when they came face to face with Messi. Some players got pictures taken with the Argentina icon after he was done answering the journalists in the media mixed zone.
Before the match, Vozinha expressed his deep admiration for Argentina and Lionel Messi and cherished the idea of playing against the football icon, saying, as quoted by Goal.com, after a stalemate with Saudi Arabia, “None of us dreamed of this, but we know we have quality and, when we got to the World Cup, perhaps many thought we would not win any games. We have a great team and quality players. It is gratifying to have qualified for the next phase, and facing Argentina will be very good. It is a dream for any footballer to play against Argentina and Lionel Messi."
The respect has now been truly earned and reciprocated by Messi and head coach Lionel Scaloni, who acknowledged how the World Cup debutants made things difficult for them.
Following the match, Scaloni said, “A really tough match, you always have to focus on the positives. This team never gives up. And I have to give credit to our opponents–the truth is, when people say there is no such thing as an easy opponent, today [Cabo Verde] proved they are a great team. And I will take away the contribution from everyone. The truth is, everyone finished really tired, because they gave it their all. This is Argentina–if you do not understand that… it is hard… we Argentines will understand it, because nothing comes easy."
Messi said during the post-match proceedings that it was not a matter of coincidence that Cabo Verde played out draws against Euro champions Spain and Uruguay, acknowledging the greatness and heart of the debutants.
He also admitted that the “hardest thing" to do in the match was to get that first goal.
“Well, honestly, we knew, we knew it was going to be a very tough game. It is no coincidence that this team had not lost to Spain or Uruguay. We did the hardest thing, which was getting that first goal. We thought that after that we would find our rhythm and be more relaxed, but it was the complete opposite," he said.
“At times, we lost possession, we sat back a bit too much, and we could not press them effectively. And well, they used their strengths to strike. We knew it would be difficult. This is knockout football, and nobody gives you anything for free."
“While some might dismiss certain teams based on their name, we knew it would not be easy at all. That’s the nature of this World Cup in particular, right? Everything is very even, very complicated, and every match is going to be incredibly tough," he signed off. (ANI)
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