Match at a glance
ARG / CPV22Attempts16
10On target5
63.6%Possession36.4%
91.6%Pass accuracy85.9%
13Fouls committed12
1Yellow cards1
0Red cards0
8Corners8
Argentina 3–2 Cape Verde: 2026 World Cup match result
2026 Round of 32Ask about this match
Argentina won after extra time
- Lionel Messi29'
- Lisandro Martínez92'
- Deroy Duarte59'
- Sidny Lopes Cabral103'
- Diney Borges (OG)111'
Match in one glance
ArgentinaCape VerdeGoalCard
Argentina
Cape Verde
0′HT90′105′FT
First half0′–45′Second half45′–90′Extra time90′–120′
How the lead moved
ARG CPV- 29'
Lionel Messi1 ARG - 59'
Deroy Duartelevel - 92'Lisandro Martínez1 ARG
- 103'Sidny Lopes Cabrallevel
- 111'Diney Borges1 CPV
Cape Verde led for the closing passage. Plotted from recorded goal times only — per-minute pressure is not in the source data.
Recorded standouts
Source actions, no ratings- 1LMLisandro Martínez 1 goal · 1 assist
- 2
Lionel Messi 1 goal · 6 on target - 3SLSidny Lopes Cabral 1 goal · 2 on target
- 4DDDeroy Duarte 1 goal · 2 on target
- 5
Alexis Mac Allister 1 assist · 1 fouls won
What separated the teams
Finishing
Argentina had the scoring edge
13.6%Goal conversion12.5%
Territory
Argentina controlled more of the ball
63.6%Possession36.4%
Defensive workload
Cape Verde made more recorded interventions
36Saves, interceptions, clearances43
Straight from the completed match report — no xG, tracking or player ratings.
Complete match timeline
ArgentinaCape VerdeGoalCardSubstitution
Argentina
Cape Verde
0′HT90′105′FT
First half0′–45′Second half45′–90′Extra time90′–120′
Event feed
15 eventsKey phases
Goals in each periodFirst half
0′–45′1 – 0L. Messi 29'
Second half
45′–90′0 – 1D. Duarte 59'
Extra time
90′–120′2 – 1L. Martínez 92' · S. Lopes Cabral 103' · D. Borges 111'
Argentina
4-4-2
26Nahuel MolinaFM
25Facundo Medina
13Cristian RomeroLM
6Lisandro Martínez
7
22Listed formation · positions are schematic
Cape Verde
4-1-4-1V
1VozinhaSM
22Steven MoreiraSL
13Sidny Lopes CabralPL
4Pico LopesDB
3Diney BorgesKP
6Kevin PinaNd
21Nuno da CostaListed formation · positions are schematic
Select a player portrait to see the recorded shirt number, position and lineup context.
Attendance64,478
RefereeDrew Fischer
ARG4-4-2
CPV4-1-4-1
Result statusAfter extra time
Complete performance breakdown
ARGCPV
Attacking output
Volume, accuracy and finishing from the recorded attempts.
22Attempts16
10On target5
7Blocked shots6
45.5%Shot accuracy31.3%
13.6%Goal conversion12.5%
Goals divided by attempts
Possession & passing
Control, circulation and progression of the ball.
63.6%Possession36.4%
779Passes completed409
91.6%Pass accuracy85.9%
6Crosses completed5
25Long balls completed23
Defensive work
Interventions made without treating workload as quality by itself.
3Saves8
13Tackles won7
60%Tackle success40%
9Interceptions9
24Clearances26
Discipline & pressure
Fouls, cards, offsides and set-piece pressure.
13Fouls committed12
3Offsides2
1Yellow cards1
0Red cards0
8Corners8
What separated the teams
Finishing
Argentina had the scoring edge
13.6%Goal conversion12.5%
Territory
Argentina controlled more of the ball
63.6%Possession36.4%
Defensive workload
Cape Verde made more recorded interventions
36Saves, interceptions, clearances43
Straight from the completed match report — no xG, tracking or player ratings.
Recorded standouts
Source actions, no ratings- 1LMLisandro Martínez 1 goal · 1 assist
- 2Lionel Messi 1 goal · 6 on target
- 3SLSidny Lopes Cabral 1 goal · 2 on target
- 4DDDeroy Duarte 1 goal · 2 on target
- 5Alexis Mac Allister 1 assist · 1 fouls won
- 6RMRyan Mendes 1 assist
- 7YSYannick Semedo 1 assist
- 8VVozinha 8 saves · 2 fouls won
- 9
Emiliano Martínez 3 saves - 10
Enzo Fernández 2 on target · 2 fouls won
Player leaders
Who led the recorded actions
Decisive moments
5 eventsTournament path
How both teams reached this match
ArgentinaCape VerdeAll-time World Cup meetings
Argentina vs Cape Verde, across editions
1ARG wins
0Draws
0CPV wins
1meetings
3–2goal balance
1knockout meetings
Source: ESPN completed match report, retrieved Aug 18, 2026. Derived percentages are calculated from the displayed source values; missing fields are omitted rather than estimated.
Source: ESPN completed match report. Tournament context cross-checked against FIFA sources listed in the dataset.