Nigeria, July 12 -- Cape Verde arrived at the World Cup with barely half a million people and no history of global football power. By the time Argentina survived them after 111 minutes, the Blue Sharks had offered Africa something larger than an upset: a lesson in planning, identity and belief.

The giant screen inside Hard Rock Stadium showed 111 minutes.

What had been billed as another routine step in Argentina's defence of the FIFA World Cup had become something few inside the stadium expected.

A struggle.

Lionel Messi had already delivered the kind of goal that usually settles knockout matches. Argentina had taken the lead twice. Yet the defending champions still found themselves trapped in an exhausting contest against a nation wh...