LOS ANGELES: Holders Argentina survived a monumental scare before defeating Cape Verde 3-2 in an all-time World Cup classic on Friday as Egypt beat Australia to reach the last 16.
Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, rocked Lionel Messi’s Argentina with two stunning equalisers to raise the prospect of pulling off the greatest upset in World Cup history at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
But a Diney Borges own goal, under pressure from Argentina’s Cristian Romero, in the 111th minute finally broke Cape Verde’s resistance.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said losing to Cape Verde “would have been madness.”
It was “a very tough match; you always have to take the positives —this team (Argentina) never gives up,” Scaloni said.
“We have to congratulate the opponent; when people say there are no easy opponents, they proved today that they are a great team,” he added.
Argentina, who are bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1962, will play Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta for a place in the quarter-finals.
But the South Americans were forced to cling on for victory against a team ranked 65 places below them by world governing body FIFA.
Messi had fired Argentina into the lead with a superb goal on 29 minutes, setting the reigning world champions on course for what most assumed would be a routine win.
But Deroy Duarte’s 59th-minute equaliser left Argentina shellshocked, and the African qualifiers then held on improbably to force extra-time.
Lisandro Martinez restored Argentina’s lead in the 92nd minute, but once again Cape Verde hit back, Sidny Lopes Cabral curling in a magnificent second on 103 minutes.
Argentina though grabbed the winner in the second period of extra-time before hanging on to clinch victory.
“What we achieved, we wanted to show what was possible for small nations,” Cape Verde’s Irish-born defensive stalwart Pico Lopes said afterwards. “With big hearts, that you can believe, and dream anything is possible.”
Penalty drama
Earlier Friday, Egypt defeated Australia on penalties to win a World Cup knockout match for the first time.
Hossam Abdelmaguid coolly converted the decisive spot-kick to seal a 4-2 shootout win over the Socceroos in Arlington, Texas, after the match finished 1-1 following extra time.
Australia coach Tony Popovic rolled the dice by bringing on veteran goalkeeper Maty Ryan for the shoot-out moments before the final whistle at the AT&T Stadium.
But Ryan was unable to bring his influence to bear, failing to get a hand on any of Egypt’s successful four penalties.
Australia were left ruing penalty misses from captain Harry Souttar and 18-year-old defender Lucas Herrington, who both blazed over.
“It’s history,” Egypt talisman Mohamed Salah said afterwards.
“I told the boys before the game that this is the biggest stage you can play on. Enjoy it and don’t let the pressure get to you,” added the former Liverpool star.
Australia coach Popovic defended the decision to bring on Ryan for the shoot-out.
“We just felt that Maty’s experience will be the difference,” Popovic said of Ryan before defending the selection of the teenaged Herrington to take a pressure-laden penalty.
“I’m sure you’d be saying something else if the young kid scored,” Popovic said.
“You’d probably be sitting there saying how wonderful it is that an 18-year-old took a penalty and scored.”
Egypt’s win bucked what has hitherto been a disappointing knockout phase for African teams,with South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo and Algeria all exiting the tournament in the last 32.
In Friday’s other game, Colombia saw off toothless Ghana 1-0 to become the final team to qualify for the World Cup last 16.
Off the field on Friday, anticipation for Sunday’s blockbuster last 16 clash between England and Mexico City at the Estadio Azteca was given a jolt of intrigue after it emerged that the kickoff time for the game may be brought forward by several hours due to forecast storms.
But after a chaotic few hours, sources later confirmed the match would go ahead at 6:00pm local time as planned.
2026-07-04 08:35:00
