Argentina – Cape Verde

Argentina should easily advance to the next round.

The Argentina national team arrived at the World Cup as the tournament's most high-profile side. The past few years have been extraordinarily productive for Lionel Messi and his teammates, culminating in two stunning achievements. First, the Argentines managed to win the World Cup in Qatar, where in the final, after a dramatic penalty shootout, they proved their superiority over France. Then they became Copa America champions, defeating a very interesting Colombia side. Despite such glorious times, Argentina were not considered even one of the three main favorites for the World Cup. Bookmakers initially favored Spain, France, and England. The group stage demonstrated the Argentines' exceptionally high level and the ageless Messi, who managed to score six goals against Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. It would seem these were not the opponents on whom one should base an opinion about a team with serious ambitions, but three indisputable victories do not allow for the opposite. Cape Verde may seem a brilliant prize from the draw for the playoffs, yet fans of Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia thought the same. The African side showed remarkable discipline and the ability to hold their shape against every mentioned opponent. The South Americans were especially astonished. After conceding a goal from a brilliant long-range shot by Kevin Lenini, Uruguay managed to come back and take the lead in the first half. However the persistent Cape Verde players again leveled the score and did not allow themselves to be beaten by yet another ambitious side. Before the match, parallels were drawn with the earlier Round of 16 encounter involving England and DR Congo. In that pairing there was also an obvious favorite, and Thomas Tuchel laughed merrily before the starting whistle. By the 70th minute, it was painful to watch the German specialist... Undoubtedly, the Argentina squad is composed of exceptional professionals who will not permit swagger before facing the underdog of the match. The other matter is that Cape Verde's path to the 2026 World Cup unbeaten looks completely not accidental and is not the result of blind luck. The visitors will play with dignity.