Cape Verde push Argentina to the edge in World Cup thriller

Argentina 3–2 Cape Verde after extra time

Cape Verde pushed the world champions to the limit. Argentina 3–2 Cape Verde in the round of 32 on Saturday, and it took 120 minutes to separate the sides (1). Deroy Duarte and a late goal forced extra time, and your team did not fold. Leandro Paredes admitted afterwards that Scaloni told his players to keep pressing until the very end, because Cape Verde never stopped coming (1). Vozinha, Sidny Cabral, Diney Borges, Diony Borges, every man on that pitch left something out there.

Egypt next for Argentina, and Paredes took notice

Argentina face Egypt in the last 16 on Tuesday evening, and Paredes made it plain: the scare Cape Verde gave them changed the mood (1) (2). No more talk of easy games. His post-match comment to the Argentine press was blunt: the lesson is there will not be any easy match now (1). For Cape Verde fans, that is the respect your team earned, the defending champions walked away rattled, and their own players are still talking about it three days later.