As the FIFA World Cup knockout stage kicks into high gear, three intriguing round of 32 matches are set to unfold across the United States on Friday, headlined by defending champion Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi squaring off against surprise qualifier Cape Verde at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. A win for the South American giants will book their spot in the tournament’s round of 16, continuing Messi’s quest for a second World Cup title.
At 36, Messi continues to rewrite World Cup history, putting in a tournament performance for the ages. He currently sits level atop this tournament’s goal-scoring table with six strikes, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé. With 19 career World Cup goals, Messi holds the all-time leading scorer mark, though Mbappé sits just one goal behind after his brace in France’s 3-0 group-stage rout of Sweden. Crucially, Messi has played one fewer match than Mbappé at this year’s tournament, giving him a clear path to extend his lead and strengthen his bid for the Golden Boot when Argentina faces a Cape Verde side lacking the big-name star power of the tournament’s elite.
The matchup has widely been framed as soccer’s modern David vs. Goliath, but Cape Verde has already proven that underestimating the African side leads to trouble. The underdogs held Spain to a 0-0 draw in group play, a result that pushed them into the knockout round and sent two-time champion Uruguay packing earlier than expected. Even as massive underdogs, Cape Verde’s camp says they have no intention of simply showing up to make up the numbers.
Calling this the most significant match in the nation’s soccer history, Cape Verde head coach Bubista emphasized that his side’s knockout berth was no fluke. “We did not reach this stage by chance. It was on our own merits and we want to show the world our qualities, our values, and that there is a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football,” he told reporters Thursday. Backup defender Stopira echoed that confidence, saying “I believe we can do a great thing here… this match is no exception.” A Cape Verde upset would send shockwaves across the global soccer community, but the side has already earned the respect of Argentina’s coaching staff.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said his side has no plans to overlook their opponents. “We are not surprised, to be honest. They are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that’s what we will do,” Scaloni said.
Friday’s action kicks off at 2 p.m. EDT at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Australia will face Egypt in the day’s first knockout tie. Egypt is holding out hope that star forward Mohamed Salah, who picked up a hamstring injury in the team’s 1-1 group-stage draw with Iran that secured their knockout spot, will be available. Salah came off in the 57th minute of that match and only participated in limited training sessions in the lead-up to the game, with head coach Hossam Hassan saying he is still unsure whether Salah will feature in the starting lineup.
This is only Egypt’s fourth World Cup appearance, and just their first trip to the knockout round. One more goal from Salah will tie the Liverpool icon’s career national team tally at 69, equaling the Egyptian all-time record held by his current national team coach. For Australia, the Socceroos are chasing their first ever knockout round win, having fallen in their two previous appearances at this stage — including a 2-1 loss to Messi and Argentina in the 2022 Qatar World Cup round of 16. Australia advanced out of their group after a 2-0 win over Turkey, a 2-0 loss to the United States, and a conservative 0-0 draw with Paraguay that saw both sides protect their position to advance.
The nightcap will be held at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, where Colombia faces Ghana with a round of 16 spot on the line. Colombia enter the match as heavy favorites after a dominant group-stage run, where they picked up wins over Uzbekistan and Congo, and held Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal to a hard-fought 0-0 draw. Across three matches, Los Cafeteros only conceded one goal, and head coach Nestor Lorenzo’s side has carried quiet confidence into their final training sessions this week.
Even Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente named Colombia as a legitimate contender to win the entire tournament. Lorenzo downplayed the favorite label, saying “I know that is a complement from Coach De La Fuente, and I thank him for saying so, but I prefer not to be considered a favorite. Every single time we’ve had to take over the reins, our team has done so. That’s shown growth on behalf of Colombia.” A win Friday will see Colombia advance to face the winner of Saturday’s Switzerland-Algeria matchup on July 7.
For Ghana, the moment is already something of a surprise. The Black Stars failed to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in more than 20 years, but a win over Panama and a draw with England were enough to push them into the knockout round. Now they are aiming to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2010, adding another chapter to this tournament’s run of upsets. “It’s very important,” Ghana center back Derrick Luckassen said. “We are through and that’s the most important, and we hope we can come even further. That is what we want. We will give our best to come through.”
One of the biggest storylines entering Friday’s action remains Messi’s historic goal chase. While the Inter Miami star already holds the all-time career World Cup goal record, he remains far off the mark for the most goals scored in a single edition of the tournament: that 13-goal record set by France’s Just Fontaine all the way back at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Fontaine is one of only three men to hit double-digit goals in a single World Cup, alongside Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis (11 goals in 1954) and West Germany’s Gerd Müller (10 goals in 1970), and Fontaine’s record came in his only ever World Cup appearance — while Messi is playing in his sixth.
The tournament’s round of 16 is set to begin Saturday, with eight more knockout ties scheduled to decide the quarterfinal field over the coming days. This story was compiled with reporting from AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds, David Skretta and Schuyler Dixon.