Argentina 3–2 Cape Verde (AET): The Fairytale Dies in the 111th Minute — and Messi vs Salah Awaits

The last tie of the Round of 32 gave this World Cup its bravest defeat. Cape Verde — population half a million, tournament debutants, the team nobody picked to escape a group containing Spain and Uruguay — twice hauled themselves level against the world champions and took Argentina to the 111th minute, where the cruellest goal in football finally settled it: an own goal, 3–2, after extra time.

For an hour it followed the script. Lionel Messi, inevitably, opened the scoring in the 29th minute from Lautaro Martínez's pass — his third goal of the tournament, another line in the farewell story. Argentina controlled the ball, the tempo and, seemingly, the evening.

The Debutants Refuse the Script

Then, on 59 minutes, Rodrigo Mendes slipped a pass through and Dailon Duarte finished it: 1–1, and the blue half of the stadium went quiet while a tiny island nation roared. Cape Verde had already drawn with Uruguay, Spain and Saudi Arabia in the group stage without losing; now they were level with the champions of the world, and defending like a team that believed the impossible was simply the next item on the schedule.

Ninety minutes could not separate them. Two minutes into extra time Argentina thought they had it won — Alexis Mac Allister releasing Lautaro Martínez to make it 2–1 — and for eleven minutes the fairytale flickered. Then it flared once more: Yannick Semedo crossed, Steven Lopes Cabral converted, and in the 103rd minute it was 2–2. The world champions, level again, against a nation playing its first knockout tie.

The Cruellest Ending

The winner, when it came in the 111th minute, belonged to nobody. An Argentine attack forced the ball across the box and Dylan Borges, stretching to clear, turned it into his own net. There was no comeback left after that — only Gonzalo Montiel's tired foul, a yellow card, and the sound of a stadium applauding both teams off.

Argentina survive, and the champions will not care how. But Cape Verde leave this World Cup unbeaten by any opponent's clean strike across four matches — three group draws and a knockout defeat by an own goal — having given the tournament its purest story. No debutant has ever announced itself better.

Messi vs Salah

And so the Round of 16 delivers the tie the whole Arab world — and most of the football world — wanted: Argentina vs Egypt. Messi against Salah. The world champions against the Pharaohs, who won their first-ever knockout match on penalties against Australia and have not lost in ninety minutes all tournament. Egypt have already made history this week; now they get the chance to make the biggest kind.

Follow Argentina vs Egypt and every World Cup 2026 knockout tie live on KickD — real-time scores, goal alerts, and the full bracket updated within 60 seconds of full time.

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Our editorial team covers Arab football and the FIFA World Cup 2026 live on kickd.net — real-time scores, group standings, and match analysis updated around the clock.

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