Lionel Messi admitted Argentina have “a lot” of areas for improvement after the defending champions survived a major scare to beat Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time to reach FIFA World Cup round of 16.Argentina sealed their place in the last 16 for the sixth straight World Cup after defeating Cape Verde in a tense round of 16 match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Saturday (IST).Tottenham defender Cristian Romero scored the winner in the 111th minute, a header from Messi’s corner deflecting off Cape Verde’s Diney Borges before slotting into the net.Messi gave Argentina the lead with a well-taken goal, but Cape Verde hit back twice to tie the game. The second equalizing goal came from Sidny Lopes Cabral, whose goal was among the most outstanding goals of the tournament.Speaking after the game, Messi said Argentina was pleased to have qualified, but admitted the team needed to sort out a few issues before the next round.“Today we made a great effort, as always, playing well and playing badly, just like we always say,” Messi said after the game. “But I think the most important thing now is to rest, think about what’s next and try to get positive things out of today’s game. Apart from the qualifications themselves, I think there are positive things because we did some good things, and we also have to correct the bad ones, which were many today.”Cape Verde made history by becoming the smallest nation to reach the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup. The country has a population of around 525,000, less than all the American states. Wyoming is the closest, with about 576,000 residents.Messi praised the African side for making life difficult for Argentina and said their performance was no surprise.“We knew it would be a very difficult game; this team didn’t lose to Spain and Uruguay for a reason. We did the hardest part, which was to find the first goal,” Messi said. “We thought from then on we would start to find our game and be more relaxed, but it was the complete opposite. We lost the ball, we sat, we couldn’t press them well, and they hit with their power. We knew it would be difficult; this is a knockout tournament and nobody gives you anything for free.“Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni also praised Cape Verde and said his players will review their mistakes from the game before the next round.“There is no easy opponent. Congratulations to Cabo Verde,” said Scaloni. “I will talk to the players about the negative, but we take the positive, that’s why we never give up.”
