Lionel Messi explains the improvements Argentina needs after narrow win over Cape Verde
July 5, 2026 · Global
Lionel Messi reflected on Argentina's narrow win over Cape Verde, emphasizing the need for improvement and acknowledging the challenges faced at the World Cup.
Lionel Messi said that Argentina needs to make improvements in many aspects after achieving a narrow 3-2 victory over Cape Verde in the dramatic round of 32 match of the 2026 World Cup. Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute, before Cape Verde equalized on the hour mark, forcing the match into extra time. Lisandro Martinez put Argentina ahead again, but Cape Verde equalized again thanks to Sidny Lopes Cabral's goal. However, an own goal from Diney, which deflected the ball into goalkeeper Vozinha, ensured that Argentina progressed to the next round.
"Today, we tried hard, as usual, playing both good and bad, as we always say," Messi said after the match. "But I think the important thing now is to rest, think about what's next, and try to take the positives from today's game. Apart from just qualifying, I think there are positives because we did some good things, and we also need to fix the bad things which I felt were quite a lot today."
Cape Verde made history at the World Cup by becoming the smallest country to reach the knockout stages of the tournament. With a population of about 525,000, the state has fewer residents than each of the 50 US states. Messi also appreciated Cape Verde's ability to make things difficult for his team throughout the match.
"We know this will be a very difficult match; this team did not lose to Spain and Uruguay not without reason," he explained. "We did the hardest part, which was scoring the first goal. We thought after that, we would start to find our game and relax more, but it turned out the opposite. We lost the ball, we defended too much, we couldn't press them well, and they took advantage of their advantages. We know this is a knockout tournament, and no one is giving us anything for free. We know it won't be easy, and that's what this World Cup is all about. Every game will be very difficult."
The Argentina captain is also doubtful for their next match against Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday, after appearing to suffer a bruise on his forehead from the impact. Despite the injury, he completed 120 minutes of the match and led his team into the next round.