World Cup | 2026-07-03 22:00
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
📊 Match Insights
In the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup, co-favorites Argentina will take on Cape Verde, a team making its tournament debut, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday.
Argentina excelled in the group stage, remaining unbeaten, while Cape Verde has demonstrated strong defensive capabilities, achieving two clean sheets in their three matches.
Notably, Argentina's last knockout stage defeat was seven years ago during the 2019 Copa America semi-finals against their rivals Brazil in Belo Horizonte.
Since that 2-0 loss, coach Lionel Scaloni has led La Seleccion to win two Copa titles in 2021 and 2023, along with a remarkable victory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The reigning champions have maintained their dominant form in North America, winning all three of their group-stage matches, a feat they share with co-hosts Mexico and the talented France team.
Lionel Messi, now 39 years old, continues to perform at a high level, having scored six goals so far in the tournament, although he is currently tied with Kylian Mbappe, who has played one more match.
As they aim to extend their current winning streak to 10 matches in both continental and World Cup competitions, Messi and his teammates are looking to build on their success since that 2019 defeat.
Cape Verde will attempt to end Argentina's impressive winning run in knockout matches, which also stands at 10, but Bubista's squad should approach the challenge with confidence. They are one of four teams making their debut at the 2026 finals, alongside Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan, and are the only debutants to reach the first knockout round.
📈 League Table (Position)
Standings are not available for this match.
📉 Team Form (Last 5 Matches)
Argentina
W
W
W
W
W
Cape Verde Islands
D
D
D
W
W
