Martínez extra-time winner saves Argentina against Cape Verde

Argentina survive Cape Verde scare in extra-time

Argentina 3–2 Cape Verde. Your team was taken to extra-time by World Cup debutants, and it was not supposed to be this hard (2). Messi said it plainly afterwards: "People always tend to underestimate some teams because of their name, but we knew this was not going to be at all easy. This World Cup especially has shown that everything is evenly matched and very difficult" (1)(3). The reigning champions looked mortal.

A Goal of the Tournament contender came from the other side

Willy Semedo, Cape Verde's 32-year-old winger, scored a strike that will be replayed for years. He used the same boot model Neymar immortalized, and then he nearly broke Argentina (4). Dibu Martínez had no chance on it. That goal forced extra-time.

Lisandro Martínez leads Argentina into the round of 16

Lisandro Martínez scored the winner in extra-time (1). The center-back, not one of your usual scorers, delivered when it mattered. Argentina now await the winner of Australia versus Egypt in the next round (1). Germany's elimination has already cleared the path, the supercomputer now has Argentina as the strongest favorite left in the tournament.

Fan reactions

The relief is real. Fans online are still catching their breath after a match that felt far closer than anyone expected. Many are already rewatching Semedo's strike and admitting it was something special, even if it nearly derailed the campaign. Separately, a nostalgic thread is circulating: photos of a 19-year-old Messi at the Emirates Stadium in 2006 for Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial, just weeks after the stadium opened. See the photos here.