Cape Verde's first appearance at a World Cup ended on Friday with a 3-2 extra-time loss to defending champion Argentina, a result that arrived only after the island nation twice pulled level and pushed the reigning champions to the edge of one of the competition's biggest upsets, according to match reports from Al Jazeera and Sky Sports.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute at Miami Stadium before Deroy Duarte equalized for Cape Verde just before the hour, Al Jazeera reported. Lisandro Martinez restored Argentina's lead early in extra time, but Sidny Lopes Cabral leveled again in the 103rd minute. Argentina found the decisive goal late in extra time when a Cristian Romero header went in off Cape Verde's Diney Borges for an own goal, giving Argentina the 3-2 win, according to the match report. Sky Sports described the outcome as the reigning champions avoiding what would have been the biggest upset in the tournament's history.
The defeat closed out a run that drew wide attention at the expanded 48-team tournament.
The smallest nation ever to reach the knockouts
Cape Verde, a nation of just over half a million people, is the smallest country by population ever to reach the World Cup knockout stage, according to Olympics.com. The team, nicknamed the Blue Sharks, was one of four debutants at the 2026 tournament alongside Jordan, Curacao and Uzbekistan, and the only one of the four to advance out of the group stage, Al Jazeera reported.
Cape Verde reached the last 32 unbeaten in Group H, drawing with Spain (0-0), Uruguay (2-2) and Saudi Arabia (0-0), according to Olympics.com. The country gained independence in 1975 and joined FIFA a decade later, building its squad largely from a far-flung diaspora, the outlet reported.
Why the run drew attention
The run stood out because a first-time qualifier from a nation of roughly half a million people reached the knockout rounds of the expanded 48-team World Cup. Reporting from NPR framed the elimination around the sentiment that the team's debut was memorable regardless of the final result, noting Cape Verde did not win a match at the tournament yet still advanced from its group and pushed the reigning champions to extra time.
Al Jazeera singled out Cape Verde defender Kevin Pina and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez among the standout performers, and noted Messi scored his seventh goal of the tournament.
What's next
Argentina advances to face Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera. Cape Verde's tournament is over, but the team returns home having recorded the deepest World Cup run by a debutant nation of its size, a result its federation and supporters are likely to measure against the country's limited football infrastructure and small population.