Argentina almost suffered a humiliating defeat to Cape Verde in the Round of 16, with Lionel Messi scoring the first goal before the African nation equalized in extra time
Lionel Messi recognizes a genuine World Cup fright when he experiences one, and he displayed complete respect for Cape Verde after Argentina narrowly squeezed past the nation of 550,000 with a 3-2 victory in extra time.
Messi and the defending champions nearly witnessed Cape Verde execute one of the most stunning upsets in World Cup history. Argentina have claimed the title three times, appeared in six finals, and only sat out the 1970 tournament.
Argentina has been eliminated in the group stage four times throughout their World Cup history. Cape Verde were first-time qualifiers and the lowest-ranked side to advance to the knockouts in their maiden appearance, with one of their players avoiding sanctions for blatantly violating FIFA rules.
Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute after Lisandro Martinez delivered a through ball to him. Cape Verde answered in the 59th minute, when Deroy Duarte converted from a tight angle following a pass from Ryan Mendes.
Lisandro Martinez restored Argentina's advantage just two minutes into extra time, finding the net after Alexis Mac Allister's header from a corner.
But Sidny Cabral leveled the score in the 103rd minute with a strike that will live on in Cape Verde history.
Cabral drifted in from the left and bent a right-footed effort into the top corner, leaving Emi Martinez with no opportunity to stop it. He sprinted into the stands to embrace his girlfriend, who told him 'love you' twice before returning to the stands.
For a few breathtaking moments, Cape Verde were level with Argentina, pushing the world champions toward a result that would have been etched in soccer history.
Messi spoke to reporters and said, via Ole: "We knew it was going to be a very tough match; there's a reason this team hadn't lost to Spain or Uruguay.
"We did the hardest part - finding the opening goal - and we thought that would allow us to settle into our game and play more calmly, but the exact opposite happened.
"We lost possession, dropped back, and couldn't press effectively. They struck using their own strengths. We knew it would be difficult; this is a knockout stage, and nothing comes easy.
"Even though we often underestimate teams based on their name, we knew this wouldn't be easy at all. That's the defining characteristic of this World Cup: everything is very evenly matched and complicated; every game is going to be incredibly tough.
"We put in a huge physical effort today, as always. The important thing now is to rest, look ahead, take the positives, and correct the negatives-of which there were plenty, too."
The Argentina skipper acknowledged that World Cup fans frequently underestimate opponents based on reputation alone. Cape Verde bowed out of the tournament having conceded five goals and scored four, with goalkeeper Vozinha registering an impressive 18 saves throughout their campaign.
Argentina's next Round of 16 opponent will be Egypt, after the African nation eliminated Australia via a highly calculated penalty shootout strategy that involved analyzing Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe's on-field movements prior to stepping up to take their spot kicks.
Source: Alloutsoccer.com
