It was arguably the greatest game of the tournament.

Lionel Messi delivered again, but it was Argentina who were forced to dig deeper than expected in a chaotic 3-2 extra-time win over a fearless Cape Verde side that refused to behave like an underdog.

Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute, reading a lofted pass and finishing with his trademark economy — a controlled touch followed by a ruthless strike into the roof of the net. It was his record-extending 20th World Cup goal, another entry in a tournament resume that already feels untouchable.

At that point, the script looked familiar. Argentina in control, Messi decisive, the crowd leaning heavily in their direction. But Cape Verde never settled into the role assigned to them.

The equaliser came through Deroy Duarte in the second half — a composed finish that stunned the atmosphere and validated everything Cape Verde had shown earlier in the tournament: discipline, courage, and an ability to survive moments that should have overwhelmed them.

Even when Argentina thought they had retaken control early in extra time through Lisandro Martínez, the match swung again. Sidny Lopes Cabral produced one of the goals of the tournament — cutting inside and curling a spectacular strike beyond Emiliano Martínez to make it 2-2 and send the stadium into disbelief.

It briefly felt like the impossible was within reach.

But elite sides tend to find a final answer. In the 111th minute, Argentina’s pressure finally broke Cape Verde’s resistance when Cristian Romero’s header deflected off Diney Borges for an own goal — a cruel ending to a defensive performance that had stretched to its limits.

What followed wasn’t celebration so much as exhaustion. Relief on one side, devastation on the other.

Cape Verde’s story, however, will not be defined by the final deflection. Goalkeeper Vozinha kept them alive for long spells, producing a string of saves that frustrated Messi and forced Argentina into uncomfortable territory. At 40 years old, he played like a man rewriting the logic of the match.

Argentina, meanwhile, will move on to face Egypt in the Round of 16, but questions linger. For all their control in spells, they were twice forced to chase a game they were expected to dominate. Messi’s brilliance remains the constant — but the margins around him felt thinner than usual.

For Cape Verde, elimination came with exhaustion, pride, and a sense of unfinished possibility. They arrived as a curiosity. They left as a team that nearly bent the tournament out of shape.

And for 120 minutes in Miami, they didn’t just compete with the world champions — they made them look human.