Key events
72 min: … Messi takes the free-kick quickly while everyone else is standing around and Vozinha flies over to save just.
71 min: Messi is fouled right on the edge of the area by Cabral. Messi stands over the ball, this is right where he wants it …
70 min: The composure that Cape Verde showed before they scored has deserted them a little recently. But you’d probably be a little fried if you were drawing with the world champions in the World Cup knockouts.
68 min: Kevin Pina is booked after bundling Messi to the ground. Argentina have a free kick around 35 yards out. Messi’s shot hits the wall.
67 min: Enzo Fernandez tries a bicycle kick that screws wide. You’ll need to do better than that against Cape Verde, Enzo.
65 min: If Argentina were taking things slowly before the equaliser they’ve woken up now. They’re a little more urgent now. What have you done Cape Verde. Again, the population of Cape Verde is 500,000.
63 min: Vozinha! Messi is through on goal but the keeper charges out to save. Lautaro Martinez is off for Julian Alvarez.
61 min: That wasn’t the case of heroic defence by an underdog before a fluke strike tied the game. Cape Verde had simply been the better side this half and looked incredibly composed, never more so than in the beautiful buildup to that goal.
It was coming? A Ryan Mendes cross nutmegs an Argentina defender and Duarte fires the ball past Martinez from a tight angle.
GOAAAL!!! Argentina 1-1 Cape Verde (Deroy Duarte 59 min)
Ummmm…
58 min: A reminder: Cape Verde are only one goal down against the world champions and are not being completely outplayed. Unlike Argentina, they are unbeaten in World Cup history.
56 min: If you ever wondered what LeBron v Jordan would look like: The two GOATS face off – Vozinha takes on Messi near goal and (somewhat clumsily it has to be said) gets the ball away.
54 min: Messi turns provider, almost playing in Nahuel Molina at pretty much the same spot Messi was in for his goal. There’s a reason why Messi has scored 9,468,936 professional goals though – Molina doesn’t have the same control and the ball flicks out of play. Up the other end Deroy Duarte has a great effort that Emi Martinez dives to save.
52 min: Cape Verde have had the better of the very early stage of this half. “By now we should be used to this. Cape Verde a small nation with far fewer resources and training infrastructure than Argentina, or any of their Group opponents, simply holds their own. Imagine an improved version of this once Cape Verde’s share of prize money gets used for some football investment,” writes in sandgk sandgk.
49 min: Steven Moreira, not for the first time, finds some space on the right and then wastes his cross. Cape Verde do have a corner though. Cabral picks it up and his shot is deflected for a corner. It’s cleared but Cape Verde are 2-0 up in corners. Small steps and all that.
46 min: And we’re back. Remember Cape Verde, you’re only one goal down and things are looking tricky but worse things can happen to you on your trip to the US.
Argentina (or Cape Verde!) will play Egypt in the next round. Here’s how their match with Australia went down earlier:
Half-time emails:
Colin Livingston: “This Cape Verde team is so likeable, I think because they seem so irrepressible, whatever is in front of them. They just get up and go again. There’s more established teams that could learn from it.”
Simon McMahon: “Far be it from me to annotate an XI from the legendary Mac Millings, but if we’re talking surprise packages, maybe a place on the bench for ‘awe’ssie Ardiles? Or whatthefucKenny Dalglish?”
John Burrell: “Is that hunched shooting style of Messi unique to him? Does it give some advantage like lower centre of gravity, greater stability, head over ball, better control or something? It seems so identifiably Messi. I know he’s a freak. I’ve seen those clips where he’s surrounded by 6-8 players and still scores.”
Gregory Phillips: “This may an overly simplistic reading, but Messi seems to be playing for Argentina with more joy and less pressure now the burden of never having won the World Cup has been lifted. And what’s scary for everyone else is the fact that he’s now playing with house moneys apparently making him more dangerous than ever.”
It’s probably just playing in MLS.
Half-time: Argentina 1-0 Cape Verde
That piece of brilliance from Messi aside, Cape Verde have handled Argentina pretty well. On the flip side, Argentina may well know that they need to save their energy for the latter stages of this tournament and are aware one goal will probably be enough – they’ve been happy to keep things calm for much of this match. Cape Verde also looked a little more ragged towards the end of the half. Still, they’re one sweet strike away from taking this to extra-time.
45 min +2: A clumsy challenge from Messi gives Cape Verde a free-kick. He isn’t booked.
45 min: Talking of GOATs … Vozinha plunges to his left to handle a long shot from Enzo Fernandez. Of course he does.
43 min: Vozinha has a scary moment as Lautaro Martinez chases down a loose ball. The Cape Verde keeps gathers as Lautaro Martinez gives him a little kick. Leave our GOAT alone!.
40 min: A beautiful ball into the box finds Moreira, whose cross finds Sidny Lopes Cabral, who tries another cross but play breaks down.
38 min: Loose header from Argentina and Moreira has a thrash from distance – you never know! – but it’s well side.
35 min: Argentina ping it around for a bit. They can save their energy a little in the sapping heat thanks to that goal. Messi’s seventh goal of the tournament puts him one ahead of Kylian Mbappé, who plays tomorrow against Paraguay.
33 min: “Are there any superlatives left for Messi? How can anyone deal with this phenomenon?” asks Steven Grundy. I wrote a Messi profile before the 2014 World Cup and people were running out of superlatives then. The fact that he’s better at World Cups in his mid to late 30s than he was in his 20s is ridiculous.
31 min: Cape Verde had been playing well until that point. It’s not really like they did much wrong, Messi was just too good. Now Cape Verde have to do something they’ve struggled with this tournament: create chances.
GOAL Argentina 1-0 Cape Verde (Messi, who else, 28 min)
Just the usual genius from the great man. He drifts into space, controls a long ball beautifully with the outside of his boot, around seven yards from goal, and lashes the ball into the roof of the net.
25 min: Drinks! Cape Verde held the European champions in their first match and now they’re holding the world champions. And it’s been pretty comfortable for them. This has not been a case of them flinging their bodies around to deflect shots. Vozinha hasn’t had much to do, and the islanders even had flickers of threats now and then.
23 min: A lovely sweeping ball nearly finds Jovane Cabral in acres of space on the wing but he can’t control it.
21 min: Medina’s cross is so good it even confuses his teammates. Or maybe it was just bad. Cape Verde clear.
