The World Cup’s Cinderella story has come to an end in Miami on July 3.
After defying the odds to stay unbeaten against global elites and become the smallest nation to ever advance beyond the group stage, Cape Verde lost to Argentina 3-2.
The Round of 32 match started in an arguably predictable fashion. Argentine legend Lionel Messi drew first blood, beating the Cape Verde goalkeeper, Vozinha, in the 29th minute. Breaking past the defenders and chipping the ball over Vozinha’s reach, Messi earned his record-setting 20th World Cup goal in 30 appearances, and his seventh of this tournament.
He reclaims the lead in the race for the World Cup Golden Boot award and is now the only player in World Cup history to score in eight successive games.
But that goal was the only one Argentina could get in the first half, and the Blue Sharks came back after half-time to not only keep up the defense but also find the equalizer.
Deroy Duarte picked up a pass through traffic from Ryan Mendes and threaded the ball low through the legs of Lisandro Martínez and past the foot of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in the 59th minute.
The underdogs held the defending World Cup champions to a draw at the end of full-time. Vozinha made seven saves, including at least three shots from Messi. Argentina outshot Cape Verde 15-6. But despite that, the 67th-ranked team in the world forced the number-1 team in the world to play 30 more minutes of extra time.
The world champions came out strong after the short break and secured the go-ahead goal just one minute and 57 seconds into stoppage time. As Messi took a corner kick, Martinez worked his way around the far side of the penalty box to pick up the ball and launch it over Vozinha into the top right corner. It was Martinez’s first career World Cup goal.
But this extra time is not a “sudden death” style overtime. Argentina was forced to defend its lead for 28 more minutes, and it lost it again roughly 11 minutes later.
Sidny Lopes Cabral launched the ball from the top left corner of the penalty box to the top right corner of the net off a pass from Yannick Semedo to tie the game 2-2, sending the few Cape Verde fans at an otherwise Argentina home game into a frenzy.
But the game that started with Messi ended with Messi. At the 111th minute, number 10 fired a corner kick front and center that found the head of Cristian Romero and bounced off defender Diney Borges before getting past Vozinha to ultimately be marked an own goal.
Cape Verde kept pressing, getting multiple corner kicks in the final three minutes of extra time.
But after a run of tying Spain—considered second-best in the world—0-0, Uruguay 2-2, Saudi Arabia 0-0, and finding an equalizer against Argentina twice, Cape Verde’s time finally ran out.
Argentina, meanwhile, survives to the Round of 16. Messi and his countrymen will face off against Egypt in Atlanta at 12 p.m. on July 7.
