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Argentina and Cabo Verde will face each other in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup on Friday, July 3, at 22:00 UTC (18:00 Cuba time) at the , in one of the most interesting matchups of the knockout stage.
The reigning world champion heads into the match as the undisputed leader of Group J, with 6 points and a perfect record of victories: 3-0 against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City and 2-0 against Austria on June 22 in Dallas. In those two matches, Lionel Messi was the team's sole scorer, netting a hat-trick against Algeria and a brace against Austria, accumulating five goals in the group stage and becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals, surpassing Miroslav Klose (16) and Marta Vieira (17). The Argentine defense did not concede any goals in the group stage.
On the other side, Cape Verde is the standout story of the tournament. The African team, which is making its debut in the World Cup for the first time in history, finished the group stage unbeaten with three draws: 0-0 against Spain on June 15 in Atlanta, 2-2 against Uruguay on June 21 in Miami, and 0-0 against Saudi Arabia this Saturday in Houston.
The draw against Spain in their World Cup debut was historic: no team had managed to keep a clean sheet in their first match against a powerhouse since Trinidad and Tobago in 2006. The goalkeeper Vozinha, at 40 years old, made seven saves and was named the MVP of that match. Against Uruguay, Kevin Pina scored Cabo Verde's first goal in World Cup history.
The Cape Verdean team finished second in Group H with 3 points and a goal difference of zero, advancing thanks to Uruguay's defeat against Spain on the final matchday. The forward Dailon Livramento (25 years old, Casa Pia A.C.) is the team's main offensive reference, with seven goals and one assist in 21 matches with the national team since 2024.
There is no previous record of encounters between both teams in official FIFA competitions, so the match on July 3 will be the first between Argentina and Cape Verde at the World Cup level. The winner will advance to the round of 16 of the tournament.
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