Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha will have to keep out Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of all time
* Messi, arguably the greatest player the world has seen, faces a 40-year-old goalkeeper who was a complete unknown three weeks ago
* It encapsulates one of the best stories of this World Cup — Cape Verde, on their World Cup debut, defying the odds to reach the knockout rounds
By Dale Johnson, BBC Sport
Lionel Messi versus Vozinha. It is the FIFA World Cup™ 2026 battle no-one knew they wanted, but which fans now cannot wait to see as Argentina and Cape Verde walk out at the Miami Stadium on Friday (00h00).
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Messi, arguably the greatest player the world has seen, faces a 40-year-old goalkeeper who was a complete unknown three weeks ago. It encapsulates one of the best stories of this World Cup — Cape Verde, on their World Cup debut, defying the odds to reach the knockout rounds.
No-one gave Cape Verde a prayer against European champions Spain — yet they drew 0-0 — heralded as one of the greatest-ever World Cup shocks, and the African nation did not even win.
Then came draws against two-time World Cup winners Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, to qualify for the last 32 in second place in the group.
Next come Argentina. It could be the biggest mismatch the World Cup has ever seen.
Three-time World Cup winners v debutants
One of the most-storied national teams — and the current world champions — face opponents who only first qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) in 2013.
Cape Verde was a colony of Portugal when Argentina took part in the first World Cup in 1930, finishing runners-up to Uruguay and the La Albiceleste have only failed to qualify for one World Cup, in Mexico in 1970, though withdrew from the three tournaments either side of World War II.
Argentina’s first World Cup success came in 1978, beating the Netherlands 3-1. In 1986, a 3-2 victory over West Germany took the trophy back to South America and a third World Cup trophy was secured in Qatar four years ago, with France beaten on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
Qatar 2022 was Argentina’s third World Cup success, following on from 1978 and 1986
Argentina have enjoyed extensive continental success, too, winning the Copa America a record 16 times — including the past two tournaments.
They have not been out of the top three of the FIFA world ranking since March 2022, and spent two years in the number one spot before being dethroned by France last year.
The Cape Verdean Football Federation, on the other hand, was only formed in 1982, and accepted as a FIFA member in 1986 — just as Argentina were winning the World Cup for a second time.
The Blue Sharks first entered World Cup qualifying in 2002 but did not have a realistic chance of qualifying until 2022. Four years ago they only just lost out to Nigeria, drawing the final group game 1-1 in Lagos when a win would have sent them to Qatar.
For the 2026 finals, despite being drawn in a group with eight-time qualifiers Cameroon, Cape Verde finished top with one defeat in 10 matches.
Such has been their recent development they only played at their first AfCON 13 years ago, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Ghana.
They have now played at the AfCON four times, reaching the last eight again in 2023. But they failed to reach the 2025 Afcon, despite qualifying for the World Cup.
Cape Verde broke in the FIFA top 100 in 2006, and climbed to 36th on the back of the first AfCON outing. In 2014, after qualifying for the 2015 tournament, they achieved their highest-ever ranking of 27th.
For the last nine years, Cape Verde have hovered around the 60-80 bracket, and will go into tonight’s game ranked 64th.
Cape Verde’s transformation began in 2010 when then-coach Joao de Deus looked to their massive diaspora and called up eight uncapped players.
Many international teams in the modern game rely on their diaspora: citizens who were born and live elsewhere across the globe but are eligible to play international football for the country.
Twelve of Cape Verde’s squad were born in the country, with their first-ever World Cup finals goal — in their 2-2 draw against Uruguay — scored by Kevin Pina, from the capital city of Praia.
Kevin Pina, born in the Cape Verdean capital city of Praia, scored his country’s first-ever goal at the FIFA World Cup
But they do lean heavily on their diaspora, including five players born in the Netherlands, and three each in France and Portugal.
No player is based in the country’s semi-professional domestic league. Twenty-three are in Europe, but only Villarreal defender Logan Costa plies his trade in any of the continent’s top five leagues.
Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who has been a surprise star of the tournament, is officially a free agent after his contract with Portuguese second division side Chaves expired on Tuesday.
Vozinha is one of seven who have been playing in Portugal, though full-back Sidny Lopes Cabral — who was at Benfica but is joining Tranzonspor — is the only one at a major club.—Editing by Maravi Express
Knockout stages results
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-Paraguay 1(4)
* Netherlands 1(2)-Morocco 1(3)
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
* England 1-2 DR Congo
* Belgium 3-2 Senegal
* USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Spain 3-0 Austria
* Portugal 2-1 Croatia
Today
* Switzerland v Algeria (15h00)
* Australia v Egypt (20h00)
* Argentina v Cape Verde (00h00)
* Colombia v Ghana (03h30)
Round of 16
Saturday
* Canada v Morocco (19h00)
* Paraguay v France (23h00)
Sunday
* Brazil v Norway (22h00)
* Mexico v England (02h00)
Monday
* Portugal v Spain (21h00)
* USA v Belgium (02h00)
Tuesday
* TBD v TBD (19h00)
* Switzerland v TBD (22h00)
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