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FIFA 2026: Cape Verde’s historic ‘dream run’ in debut World Cup, Messi will face Argentina in the knockout

By Samira Vishwas

FIFA World Cup 2026: Cape Verde’s football team has created history by reaching the knockout stage (Round of 32). Their Group H match played against Saudi Arabia ended in a goalless draw. Thanks to this one point, Cape Verde secured second place in the group. It has become only the third African team to make it to the knockouts in its first World Cup without losing a match.

Now there will be a big fight with Argentina

Cape Verde, who scored three points in the group stage, left Uruguay and upcoming 2034 World Cup hosts Saudi Arabia behind. Now in the round of 32, this newly formed team will face defending champion Argentina. This historic match will be played on Thursday, July 3 at the Miami Stadium, where Lionel Messi’s star-studded team will face Cape Verde.

Close contest against Saudi Arabia

In the match against Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde adopted an aggressive approach from the beginning. Willy Semedo created many excellent chances to score, but Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais stood like a wall. The Saudi team suffered a major blow when their star defender Hassan Al Tambakati suddenly collapsed on the field and had to be taken out on a stretcher. Ultimately the match ended 0-0 and Cape Verde fans rejoiced.

Senegal defeated Iraq 5-0

In another match of Group I, Senegal made a strong comeback and defeated Iraq by 5-0. With this resounding victory, Senegal has kept its hopes of reaching the Round of 32 alive. On the other hand, after this crushing defeat, the Iraq team is out of the tournament without earning any points.

Red card and Senegal’s unilateral dominance

Senegal dominated from the beginning of the match. Habib Diarra scored the opening goal to give the team a 1-0 lead. Iraq’s troubles increased further when their defender Rabin Sulaika was shown a red card after a VAR check for a foul on Sadio Mane in the 13th minute. After this, the Iraqi team playing with 10 players fell apart like a pack of cards.

The speed of Pepe Gueye’s goals surprised

In the second half, Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr scored his fourth World Cup goal to put the team ahead 2-0. After this, substitute player Pepe Gueye created a ruckus as soon as he stepped on the field. He fired two very fast shots, out of which the speed of the first shot was 84 kilometers per hour and the speed of the second shot was 103 kilometers per hour. The opposing goalkeeper had no chance to stop them. In the 82nd minute, Iliman Ndiaye sealed the victory by scoring the fifth goal.

France shines with Ousmane Dembele’s hat-trick

In a very high-voltage match of the same group, France defeated Norway 4-1. In this match played at Boston Stadium, the real hero of France’s victory was Ousmane Dembele, who scored a brilliant hat-trick by defeating Norway’s defense with his speed and acrobatics. Although both the teams had already reached the knockout, but this battle to top the group was very exciting.

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France took the lead in the first half itself

In the very first minute of the match, a powerful shot by Kylian Mbappe hit the crossbar. After this, in the seventh minute, Dembele opened the account by scoring a goal on a brilliant cross from Mbappe. In the 20th minute, Dembele again did wonders and made the score 2-0. However, just one minute later, Norway’s Thelo Aasgaard made it 2-1 with a brilliant shot from outside the box, but Dembele soon completed his hat-trick by scoring his third goal.

Penalty saved and France became group topper

In the 50th minute of the second half, Norway got a penalty to make a comeback, but French goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a brilliant save, ruining their hopes. In the last moments of the match (stoppage time), Desire Du made the score 4-1 with a brilliant header from a precise cross by Bradley Barcola. With this big win, France finished first in Group I, while Norway had to be content with second place.

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