Everything Lionel Messi Said After Argentina's Dramatic World Cup Win vs. Cape Verde

Following Argentina's tougher-than-expected Round of 32 win over Cape Verde in the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, Lionel Messi gave his thoughts on the performance and what la Albiceleste has to do moving forward in the tournament.

Speaking to reporters after Argentina needed extra time to beat Cape Verde 3-2, Messi said, "Today, we put in a huge effort, as always, playing well and playing badly, just like we always say. But I think the important thing now is to rest, think about what's coming next and try to take positives from today's game. Beyond just qualifying, I think there are positives because we did some good things, and we also need to correct the bad ones, which I think were many today as well."

Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute, marking the eighth consecutive World Cup match in which the 39-year-old superstar scored at least one goal:

It felt like Argentina was going to pour it on from that point forward, but Deroy Duarte surprisingly tied it for Cape Verde in the 59th minute, and the match went to extra time.

Argentina went ahead once again early in the extra session when Lisandro Martínez scored in the 92nd minute, however, Cape Verde had another answer in the 103rd minute courtesy of Sidny Lopes Cabral.

Finally, in the 111th minute, Argentina went up for good on a Diney Borges own goal, allowing them to vanquish the plucky underdogs in their first World Cup appearance:

Cape Verde gave Argentina everything they could handle, and Messi gave them their due credit.

"We knew it was going to be a very tough match; this team hadn't lost to Spain and Uruguay for a reason. We did the hardest part, which was finding the first goal," Messi said. "We thought that from then on, we would start to find our game and be more relaxed, but it was the complete opposite. We lost the ball, we sat back, we couldn't pressure them well, and they struck with their strengths. We knew it was going to be difficult; this is a knockout tournament, and nobody gives you anything for free.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy at all, and that's what this World Cup, in particular, is all about. It's very evenly matched, very complicated, and every game is going to be extremely difficult."

The matchups only figure to get tougher for the reigning World Cup champions in the coming days and weeks, starting with their Round of 16 showdown with Egypt on Tuesday.

Egypt won a knockout game at the World Cup for the first time ever on Saturday when they beat Australia, and they will be hungry for more when they meet Argentina.

Although Argentina will be the unquestioned favorite, they will go from facing the No. 64 team in the FIFA rankings in Cape Verde to the No. 24 team in Egypt.