Messi faces Cape Verde’s Vozinha in World Cup last 16 clash

Lionel Messi faced Vozinha in Miami on Friday with Cape Verde trying to turn the most unlikely run of the tournament into a place in the last 16. Argentina arrived as defending champions and FIFA’s No. 1-ranked men’s team on June 11, 2026; Cape Verde came in ranked 67th and making their World Cup debut.

Cape Verde’s route through Group H already rewrote the record book. The island nation of just over half a million people became the smallest country ever to reach the men’s World Cup knockout stage after finishing second in the group, a rise built on a 0-0 draw with Spain in its first-ever World Cup match, a 2-2 draw with Uruguay and a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia to secure progression. That run also made Cape Verde the first debutant nation to reach the round of 32.

Argentina reached the knockout rounds with a perfect group-stage record and Messi added another line to his World Cup ledger by scoring in a record seven straight matches. The contrast was stark: one side carrying the weight of titles, history and the world’s most recognizable player; the other carrying the momentum of a national first, reached without a single defeat in the group stage.

On the eve of the match, Cape Verde coach Bubista called it the “match of our lives” but said his side would not fear Argentina. Vozinha was even more direct, saying Cape Verde could compete with anyone and urging Cape Verdeans to believe. For Cape Verde, the fixture was no longer just a collision with a global power. It was a test of whether a debut at an expanded World Cup could become a genuine national breakthrough, not merely a brief appearance before the favorites moved on.