00:07Argentina were given a huge scare before ending Cape Verde's fairytale run as Lionel Messi netted
00:12his 20th World Cup goal in a 3-2 win after extra time to reach the last 16. Messi's sublime
00:19control
00:20and finish for his seventh goal at this tournament in four games put the defending champions in
00:24command but the Blue Sharks doggedly refused to go away DeRoy Duarte's strike on the hour mark
00:31forced Argentina to expand more energy than they would have wanted in the sapping Miami heat
00:37Lissandro Martinez briefly restored Argentina's lead early in extra time before Sidney Lopes
00:42Cabral's stunning shot rocketed into the top corner another Argentina corner finally got the job done
00:49when Christian Romero rose highest to head Messi's corner the ball going in off a deflection from
00:54Daini Borges for an own goal La Albiceleste will face Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta but there were
01:01concerns for Lionel Scaloni on his 100th match in charge despite what appears a favorable draw
01:08Scaloni said it would have been madness to lose to the underdogs a very tough match you always have
01:14to take the positives this team Argentina never gives up he said we have to congratulate the opponent
01:21tournament when people say there are no easy opponents they prove today that they are a great
01:25team he added we finished very tired they gave it their all Cape Verde had served warning of what
01:32they were capable of by holding European champions Spain Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to draws in Group H to
01:39reach the knockout stages in their first World Cup appearance the Blue Sharks coach Bubista said the
01:45meeting with the meeting with the world champions would be the game of our lives and it showed in a
01:49spirited display that had Argentina sweating on his return to the city where he plays his club
01:55football for Inter Miami Messi's every move was greeted like a god by the nearly 65,000 crowd mainly in
02:03Argentina shirts the 39 year old produced a moment of magic with a feather like touch from
02:09Lissandro Martinez's pass to set up a high finish past Vozinha to open the scoring in doing so Messi
02:16also extended his own record of scoring in eight consecutive World Cup games and opened up a two
02:22goal cushion once more over France's Kylian Mbappe in the battle to be the competition's all-time top
02:27goal scorer Emi Martinez had been a spectator in the first half but the Aston Villa goalkeeper was
02:34forced into a smart save by Duarte as Cape Verde started the second period with more attacking intent
02:40Martinez was powerless for the equalizer moments later when Duarte was picked out by Ryan Mendez and
02:46rifled a low shot into the far corner Cape Verde's 40 year old goalkeeper Vozinha became an internet
02:52sensation after his man-of-the-match showing against Spain last month his nearly 18 million Instagram
02:59followers will have enjoyed him winning a one-on-one battle with Messi when the eight-time
03:04Ballon d'Or winner seemed certain to restore Argentina's lead Irish-born Pico Lopes was next
03:10to be a Cape Verdean hero with a crucial intervention to deny Enzo Fernandez a tap-in after more inspiration
03:17from Messi created an opening Lissandro Martinez's rising drive after a corner fell the Manchester United
03:24defender's way two minutes into extra time looked to have swung the momentum decisively in Argentina's
03:29favor once more but again Cape Verde refused to bow and leveled with one of the goals of the tournament
03:36when Lopa Cabral smashed into the top corner the fullback ran off into the stands to celebrate with his
03:43partner elsewhere around the crowd the boisterous atmosphere that had accompanied most of the
03:48evening gave way to nervous tension as penalties approached Scaloni could only wipe his furrowed
03:54brow with relief when Messi's corner was turned in for an own goal by the unfortunate Borges yet an
04:01exhausted Argentina still had to ride their luck from a Cape Verde onslaught in the final seconds
04:06Emi Martinez this time won the battle with Lopez Cabral by tipping over another sweet strike that was
04:12headed for the top corner
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