Messi eyes World Cup history as Argentina face Cape Verde shock in Miami

Lionel Messi and holders Argentina head into their Round of 32 clash with Cape Verde in Miami eyeing a piece of World Cup history, with the veteran forward one goal away from becoming the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 20 strikes.

Few would have predicted this last-32 pairing before the tournament began. While Argentina were widely tipped to top their group, Cape Verde’s run to the knockout stages has been one of the standout stories of the 2026 World Cup so far.

Cape Verde’s fairytale continues

The island nation went unbeaten in the group stage against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, a remarkable achievement for a side making their World Cup debut. Cape Verde ultimately finished second in their group, behind Spain, but that was enough to send them through to the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.

Now they face the toughest test imaginable against the reigning world champions, who have made no secret of their intentions to defend the trophy they won in Qatar.

Messi chasing another milestone

Argentina’s campaign has, unsurprisingly, been built around Lionel Messi. The Rosario-born forward, who turned 39 last month, has already scored six times at this World Cup and shows no sign of slowing down at the highest level of the international game.

Should Messi find the net against Cape Verde, he would become the first player in World Cup history to reach 20 goals in the competition, a landmark that would further cement his status as one of the greatest to have played the game.

FourFourTwo’s prediction

FourFourTwo, previewing the fixture, expects Argentina to have too much quality for their underdog opponents in Miami and to inflict Cape Verde’s first defeat of the tournament. The outlet described Messi and his teammates as “too strong for the plucky islanders”, whose fighting spirit has nonetheless won plenty of admirers throughout the group stage.

Should Argentina progress as expected, they will move a step closer to a potential defence of their world title, with Messi’s individual pursuit of goalscoring history set to remain one of the dominant storylines of the knockout rounds.

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