World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi’s Argentina gets easy opponents in round of 32

Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

Argentina captain Lionel Messi and the reigning world champions have been handed a Round of 32 clash against tournament debutants Cape Verde.

The South American giants advanced to the knockout stage after finishing top of their group, while the Blue Sharks secured second place in Group H to set up a meeting with Lionel Scaloni’s side.

The highly anticipated encounter is scheduled to take place in Miami as Argentina continue their quest to defend the World Cup title.

Argentina reached the knockout phase with Messi once again rewriting football history.

The veteran forward became the highest goalscorer in men’s football history after scoring twice in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria, helping the defending champions book their place in the last 32.

The two goals came after his opening-day hat-trick against Algeria, allowing him to move two goals clear of Miroslav Klose and Kylian Mbappe in the all-time World Cup scoring rankings.

Messi also joined Just Fontaine and Jairzinho as only the third player to score in six consecutive World Cup matches after opening the scoring against Austria.

Argentina ended the group stage at the summit of Group J with a superior goal difference of plus five ahead of their final fixture against Jordan.

Cape Verde, meanwhile, have emerged as one of the surprise packages of the tournament.

The debutants became the third-smallest nation by population to reach the knockout stage after finishing second in Group H behind European champions Spain.

Remarkably, Cape Verde advanced without winning a single group-stage match, collecting three points through draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

The newcomers now face their biggest challenge yet as they prepare to take on the reigning world champions in the Round of 32.

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.