Argentina superstar Lionel Messi consoles the Cape Verde players after their World Cup knockout clash.
Image: AFP
Holders Argentina survived a monumental scare before defeating Cape Verde 3-2 in an all-time FIFA World Cup classic on Friday, as Egypt edged out Australia to secure their place in the round of 16.
Cape Verde, a nation with a population of just over 500,000, rocked Lionel Messi's Argentina with two stunning equalisers to raise the genuine prospect of pulling off the greatest upset in World Cup history at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. However, a cruel Diney Borges own goal, under intense pressure from Argentina's Cristian Romero in the 111th minute, finally broke Cape Verde's valiant resistance.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni admitted that losing to Cape Verde "would have been madness."
It was "a very tough match; you always have to take the positives — this team never gives up," Scaloni reflected post-match. "We have to congratulate the opponent; when people say there are no easy opponents, they proved today that they are a great team."
Argentina, who are bidding to become the first nation to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1962, will face Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta for a place in the quarter-finals. Yet, the South Americans were forced to desperately cling on for victory against a side ranked 65 places below them by world governing body FIFA.
Messi had initially fired Argentina into the lead with a superb strike on 29 minutes, setting the reigning world champions on course for what most assumed would be a routine victory. But Deroy Duarte's 59th-minute equaliser left Argentina shellshocked, and the African qualifiers then held on improbably to force extra time.
Lisandro Martínez restored Argentina's advantage in the 92nd minute, but once again Cape Verde hit back, with Sidny Lopes Cabral curling in a magnificent second on 103 minutes. Argentina, though, grabbed the decisive winner in the second period of extra time before hanging on to clinch a breathless victory.
"What we achieved, we wanted to show what was possible for small nations," Cape Verde's Irish-born defensive stalwart Pico Lopes said afterwards. "With big hearts, that you can believe, and dream anything is possible."
Earlier on Friday, Egypt defeated Australia on penalties to win a World Cup knockout match for the first time in their history. Hossam Abdelmaguid coolly converted the decisive spot-kick to seal a 4-2 shootout win over the Socceroos in Arlington, Texas, after the match finished 1-1 following extra time.
Australia coach Tony Popovic rolled the dice by bringing on veteran goalkeeper Maty Ryan for the shootout just moments before the final whistle at the AT&T Stadium. But Ryan was unable to bring his influence to bear, failing to get a hand on any of Egypt's four successful penalties. Australia were left ruing penalty misses from captain Harry Souttar and 18-year-old defender Lucas Herrington, who both blazed over the crossbar.
"It's history," Egypt talisman Mohamed Salah said. "I told the boys before the game that this is the biggest stage you can play on. Enjoy it and don't let the pressure get to you," added the former Liverpool star.
Popovic defended his decision to introduce Ryan for the shootout. "We just felt that Maty's experience would be the difference," Popovic said, before defending the selection of the teenage Herrington to take a pressure-laden penalty.
"I'm sure you'd be saying something else if the young kid scored," Popovic countered. "You'd probably be sitting there saying how wonderful it is that an 18-year-old took a penalty and scored."
Egypt's victory bucked what has hitherto been a disappointing knockout phase for African teams, with South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Algeria all exiting the tournament in the round of 32.
In Friday's late fixture, Colombia stayed on course for a potential quarter-final meeting with Argentina after squeezing past Ghana 1-0 in Kansas City. Jhon Arias scored in the 14th minute of a tight, cagey match at Arrowhead Stadium to send Colombia into a round-of-16 meeting with Switzerland.
Anticipation for Sunday's blockbuster round-of-16 clash between England and Mexico at the Estadio Azteca was given a jolt of intrigue after it emerged that the kickoff time for the game might be brought forward by several hours due to forecast storms.
However, after a chaotic few hours, sources later confirmed the high-stakes match would go ahead at 6pm local time as originally planned.
AFP