Miami Gardens: Lionel Messi and Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 on Friday to advance to the World Cup Round of 16 after a thrilling match in which the tiny island nation challenged the reigning champions until the final minutes of extra time.
The go-ahead goal for Argentina was credited as an own goal after Cristian Romero's header deflected off Cape Verde's Diney Borges in the 111th minute.
Messi scored early in regulation, netting his record-extending 20th career World Cup goal. Lisandro Martinez scored in the 103rd minute to put Argentina ahead 2-1.
Sidny Lopes Cabral and Deroy Duarte scored for Cape Verde, both equalisers that stunned the pro-Argentina crowd in South Florida.
Argentina advanced to face Egypt, which beat Australia in a penalty shootout earlier on Friday, in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Cape Verde's memorable World Cup debut capped a stunning run that few outside the tiny island nation off the western coast of Africa could have predicted.
Behind the stellar performances of 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, Cape Verde became the smallest country to reach the knockout stage, securing surprising draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Vozinha made 10 saves against Argentina, including five from Messi.
Messi added another brilliant goal to his résumé, sneaking behind the Cape Verde defence on a well-timed run as Martinez lofted a pass towards him. He took a quick touch before hammering a finish into the roof of the net past Vozinha to give Argentina a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.
The Argentina captain has seven goals in this tournament, one more than France's Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race for the top scorer at this year's World Cup. He also extended his World Cup scoring record, moving two goals ahead of Mbappé on the all-time list. He has now scored in eight consecutive World Cup matches.
