‘We lost the ball, we sat down’: Unfazed Lionel Messi points to ‘a lot of bad things’ after Argentina survive Cape Verde scare

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) tackles Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte (14) and Ryan Mendes (20) during the World Cup Round of 32 soccer match between Argentina and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Florida, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo) Lionel Messi admitted Argentina have “many” areas to improve after the defending champions survived a major scare to beat Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time to reach the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup.Argentina sealed their place in the round of 16 for their sixth straight World Cup after defeating Cape Verde in a tense round of 32 match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (IST) on Saturday.Tottenham defender Cristian Romero scored the winner in the 111th minute when his header from Messi’s corner was deflected by Cape Verde’s Diney Borges before heading into the net.Messi gave Argentina the lead with a well-taken goal, but Cape Verde fought back twice to level the match. The second equalizer was scored by Sidny Lopes Cabral, whose strike was one of the most outstanding goals of the tournament.Messi said after the match that Argentina were delighted to have qualified, but admitted that the team had several issues to resolve before the next round.“Today, as always, we made a huge effort, we played well and we played badly, just like we always say,” Messi said after the match. “But I think now it’s important to rest, think about what comes next and try to take the positives from today’s game. Apart from qualifying, I think there are positives because we did some good things and we also need to fix the bad ones, which I think were a lot today.”Cape Verde made history by becoming the smallest country to reach the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup. The country has a population of approximately 525,000, which is less than all US states. Wyoming is the closest, with a population of about 576,000.Messi praised the African side for making life difficult for Argentina and said their performance was no surprise.“We knew it would be a very difficult game; this team didn’t lose against Spain and Uruguay for a reason. We did the hardest part, which was to find the first goal,” Messi said. “We thought from then on we would start to find our game and be more relaxed, but it was the complete opposite. We were losing the ball, we were sitting back, we couldn’t push them well and they hit with their strengths. We knew it was going to be difficult; this is a knock-out tournament and nobody gives you anything for free.”Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni also praised Cape Verde and said his players will review the mistakes of the match before the next round.“There is no easy opponent. Congratulations to Cape Verde,” said Scaloni. “I will talk to the players about the negative, but we take the positive, which is that we never give up.”