France, July 4 -- The game in Miami started according to the script.

Argentina skipper Lionel Messi struck his seventh goal of the 2026 tournament in the 28th minute to open the scoring.

He collected a long pass on the outside of his left foot and swept the ball past the Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha into the net. Lionel Messi scored his seventh goal at the 2026 World Cup.

The equaliser in the 59th minute came after a spell in which Cape Verde dominated possession Parity after domination

Cape Verde skipper Ryan Mendes surged down the right wing and fed the ball to Deroy Duarte who threaded the ball through the legs of Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez and past goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

At parity and piqued, Argentina took their tur...