It all happened, against all odds. The surprise team of this World Cup, Cape Verde , held their own against the world champions for 120 minutes, equalizing twice, in regulation time and extra time, and shaking the Albiceleste in the delirium of the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
In the end, the score was 3-2 for Messi and his teammates, who perhaps lapsed into superficiality at certain points, unable to consolidate their two-goal advantage. "A mess, but that's football," said the exhausted Argentine coach Scaloni at the end of the match, congratulating his opponents.
And to think that the match had started well for Argentina, with a gem of a goal in the 29th minute from the usual Messi (his seventh in this competition), who controlled a pinpoint pass from the defense by Lisandro Martinez with the outside of his foot and then slammed the ball into the net with a low shot, beating one of the heroes of the evening, goalkeeper Vozinha, who was capable of denying him several opportunities until the end of extra time.
In the locker room with the lead, Albiceleste returned to the pitch with little aggression and surprised by Cape Verde , who instead raised their center of gravity, pressing high on the defense's passing lanes. A winning strategy, which allowed the African team to equalize with a goal from Deroy Duarte: a nutmeg for the assist and a nutmeg for the goal, a gem that stunned "el Dibu" Martinez and sent the Cape Verdean fans, admittedly few in attendance, into ecstasy .
At the start of extra time , Lisandro Martinez turned scorer —it was a magical night for the Manchester United defender—turning in a Messi corner. He controlled the ball with the outside of his left foot and fired toward the near post, giving Vozinha no time to react.
A lead that seemed to pave the way for the Albiceleste, but at the end of the first half of extra time, the unexpected happened . Cape Verde attacked down the left flank, Sindy Lopes Cabral—who three years ago played in the German fifth tier—broke free from Mac Allister on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a rainbow-shaped shot that landed straight in the top corner. Then came the mad rush to find family members in the stands and the dance with teammates.
The specter of penalties is starting to loom large in the minds of the Argentinians. Faces tense on the bench, even in the stands, "el Cholo" Simeone can't sit still. But in the sixth minute of the second period of extra time, a Messi corner kick hits the head of Cape Verdean defender Borges and into the net . It's the final point in a game of seesawing emotions where, for nearly 120 minutes, it seemed David could defeat Goliath. An Argentina that has spent a lot of time physically and who now, on Tuesday, July 7th at 6 p.m. (Italian time), will face Momo Salah's Egypt in the round of 16 in Atlanta.
(Unioneonline)