Messi extends World Cup scoring streak, Cape Verde evens the score
Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates were 4,400 miles from Buenos Aires on Friday night, but it sure did not feel like it.
Hard Rock Stadium looked and sounded like La Bombonera, one of the world’s most iconic soccer stadiums, as a sellout crowd of 64,478, most in light blue and white striped No. 10 jerseys, serenaded the defending World Cup champions as they faced Cape Verde in a thrilling Round of 32 match that ended 1-1 in regulation and went into extra time before Lisandro Martinez’s goal secured the win for Argentina in the 92nd minute.
Within minutes of the opening whistle, the stadium in Miami Gardens literally rocked as Argentina’s fans jumped up and down in unison, pumped their right arms in the air, and began chanting “Muchachos”, one of their many soccer anthems, which celebrates the team’s history and rallies behind the team to win a fourth World Cup.
When Messi scored with his trusty left foot in the 29th minute to give Argentina a 1-0 lead, the place went crazy and the deafening “Messi! Messi!” chants began.
And when Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte evened the score with a right footed shot from a difficult angle at the 59-minute mark, the stunned stadium went silent, minus two small spirited clots of Cape Verde fans in the East end zone seats.
The Cape Verde supporters also erupted in the 62nd minute when their beloved 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha denied Messi at point-blank range. Messi got at the end of a through ball in the box, was one-on-one with Vozinha, and the keeper blocked the legend’s shot with his mid-section. Vozinha later stopped a Messi free kick, diving to the left and leaping for the ball while he was still setting up his wall.
The Argentina fans, determined to lift their team’s spirit and will their heroes to victory, belted out song after song. But the score remained knotted 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Cape Verde coach Bubista had warned that his 64th-ranked team would respect, but not be in awe of Messi and Argentina. The West African island nation became the smallest country ever to advance to the knockout stage after finishing runner up in Group H with a 0-0 draw against Spain, 2-2 draw against Uruguay at Hard Rock Stadium, and 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia.
Argentina dominated the first half and Cape Verde managed only one shot and none on goal.
Messi, as usual, was in the right place at the right time for his goal. He settled a Lisandro Martinez pass with his left foot and then launched his shot from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner, over Vozinha.
Messi, 39, continues to rewrite history.
He is in peak form and carrying Argentina’s hopes of repeating as champion on his shoulders after scoring seven of the team’s nine goals thus far. Argentina is attempting to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups.
Messi kicked off the tournament with a hat trick in Argentina’s opener against Algeria, followed that with a brace against Austria and then came off the bench to score his sixth goal against Jordan with a sublime free kick.
He is the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 20 goals.
He also broke a 56-year-old record for scoring streak in the tournament with goals in eight consecutive matches. Only Just Fontaine in 1958, and Brazil’s Jairzinho in 1970 had ever scored in six straight.
Messi now leads the Golden Boot race. France’s Kylian Mbappe is in second place with six goals, followed by Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane with five goals each.
Seeing Messi in South Florida is nothing new, as he plays for Inter Miami and has played matches with Argentina at Hard Rock Stadium, including the Copa America final in the summer of 2024.
But this was different. This is the World Cup and a spot in the Round of 16 was on the line. Fans showed up ready to party, singing their lungs out at bus stations, through the parking lots into the stadium gates and Fan Zone and then once they reached their seats.
Among the celebrities watching from VIP boxes were Shakira and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham. Other expected guests included Gloria Estefan, Manu Ginobili, Sam Reinhart, and Trevon Diggs.
Dark clouds hovered around the stadium just before kickoff, threatening to delay the start of the game, but Mother Nature apparently is a soccer fan, because the storm veered away.
This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 6:49 PM.