Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina will look to claim one of the final spots in the round of 16 at the World Cup on Friday night when they face Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Florida.
To no one's surprise, Messi has been one of the biggest stars of the tournament with six goals, tied for the most with France’s Kylian Mbappe. Messi is now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 19 goals, but Mbappe only one behind after scoring twice in France’s 3-0
win over Sweden.
Messi, however, has played one fewer game at this year's tournament and would seemingly have a golden opportunity to take a step toward winning the Golden Boot when Argentina faces a Cape Verde team devoid of any star players.
The Argentina-Cape Verde match is essentially soccer's version of David vs. Goliath.
“I believe we can do a great thing here,” Cape Verde backup defender Stopira said through a translator on Thursday. “And this is no exception. This match is no exception.”
A Cape Verde win would certainly send shockwaves throughout the soccer world. But the team showed it has the power to surprise if taken for granted.
Just ask Spain. Cape Verde played the Spaniards to a 0-0 draw in group play.
That helped Cape Verde get through to the round of 32, while Uruguay, a two-time World Cup champion, was eliminated in group play. But now comes three-time champion Argentina.
“The most important match in our history,” Cape Verde coach Bubista said. “So, we are being responsible and also trying to enjoy the match. We did not reach this stage by chance. It was on our own merits and we want to show the world our qualities, our values and that there’s a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said it's not a fluke that Cape Verde advanced.
“We are not surprised, to be honest,” Scaloni said. “They are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that’s what we will do.”
In the other matches on Friday, Australia will take on Egypt, while Colombia faces Ghana.
The round of 16 begins Saturday.
— Australia vs. Egypt, 2 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Argentina vs. Cape Verde, 6 p.m. EDT in Miami Gardens, Fla (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Colombia vs. Ghana, 9:30 p.m. EDT in Kansas City, Missouri (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
Egypt is hopeful striker Mohamed Salah, who has a hamstring injury, will play against Australia in the team's first-ever appearance in the knockout round. Coach Hossam Hassan said through a translator he wasn’t sure if Salah would start in the round of 32 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Salah exited in the 57th minute of the 1-1 draw with Iran that ensured Egypt would get through the group stage. Hassan said he went through limited training with the team. Salah didn’t speak to reporters before the match.
Egypt is making only its fourth World Cup appearance, and Salah’s next international goal will equal the 34-year-old former Liverpool star with his national team coach for the country’s career lead at 69.
Australia has reached the knockout round twice, but lost both times. That included four years ago in Qatar, 2-1 to Messi and eventual champion Argentina in the round of 16.
Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored the only goals for the Socceroos, both in a 2-0 victory over Turkey. The Aussies lost to the U.S. 2-0 and advanced thanks to a 0-0 draw against Paraguay with both teams playing conservatively while in good position to advance.
There is one thing Colombia and Ghana could have agreed on ahead of their match in the round of 32: Los Cafeteros are decidedly the favorites Friday night while the Black Stars are trying to make a major statement.
Colombia rolled through the group stage, beating Uzbekistan and Congo while playing Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to a hard-fought scoreless draw. All told, coach Nestor Lorenzo’s team only conceded a single goal in three games, and it seemed to exude the confidence built over the past week during a final training session in Kansas City, Missouri.
Even the coach of Spain, Luis de la Fuente, called Colombia a “candidate to win the World Cup.”
“I know that is a complement from Coach De La Fuente, and I thank him for saying so,” Lorenzo said, “but I prefer not to be considered a favorite. Every single time we’ve had to take over the reins, our team has done so. That’s shown growth on behalf of Colombia.”
While expectations are high for Colombia to advance and face the Switzerland-Algeria winner on July 7, they were quite low entering World Cup for Ghana. The Black Stars failed to qualify for last year’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in more than two decades.
Yet a win over Panama and a draw with England was enough to get Ghana through to the knockout round. Now, in a tournament that has featured plenty of surprises, the Black Stars aim to produce another and reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.
“It’s very important,” Ghana center back Derrick Luckassen said. “We are through and that’s the most important, and we hope we can come even further. That is what we want. We will give our best to come through.”
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Messi has had plenty of success scoring at the World Cup, but he has a long way to go to break the all-time record of 13 goals in a single edition set by France forward Just Fontaine at the 1958 tournament in Sweden. Fontaine is one of three players who has reached double figures is goals scored during a single tournament. The others are Hungary's Sándor Kocsis (11 goals in 1954) and West Germany's Gerd Müller (10 in 1970). Fontaine, by the way, only played in one World Cup; Messi is playing in his sixth.
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AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds, David Skretta and Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
