Cabo Verde ask questions as Argentina escape with narrow World Cup win

ARgentina train Lionel Scaloni stood on the sidelines rubbing his eyes and forehead. This is how he reacted to his team up scoring what proven to be the victor in their labialise of 32 match at the FIFA World Cup. On the pitch, near a corner flag at Miami Stadium, the Argentina players piled onto each other in celebration while Scaloni stood with a pensive look on his face.With the defending champions playing tournament debutants Cabo Verde, a goal-fest was expected. There were five goals scored over 120 minutes of football. Argentina escaped with a 3-2 win.A tie that was, at least on paper, rated as the biggest mismatch in the knockout stage of the competition proved to be one of the games of the World Cup.This was a match that saw both teams locked at 1-1 at the end of regulation time. A match that included a wonderful Lionel Messi goal scored at the end of an extraordinary pass from the halfway line. And a match that gave this World Cup its goal of the tournament, when Sidny Lopes Cabral struck a long-range effort from an acute angle that sailed into the top corner of Emiliano Martínez’s goal to bring Cabo Verde level at 2-2 in extra time — beyond the realm of the believable.For all of Argentina’s vast history and expertise in the sport, a team whose main defender was scouted through LinkedIn asked questions the three-time champions struggled to answer.Eventually, once the dust settles and perhaps once this tournament ends, one of the bigger unasked questions will be what Argentina will do after captain Messi decides to call time on his international career.The same Messi who, at 39, has continued to set new landmarks. He opened the scoring on Friday in Miami in the 29th minute to pick up his seventh goal of this tournament, extending his overall tally to 20 in the 30 World Cup matches he has played, while also extending his own record of scoring in eight consecutive World Cup games.And what a goal it was.Messi these days spends most of his time walking on the pitch. He went on a casual stroll beyond the defenders into an unthreatening offside position. Reading the play, he came back into position at just the right time to burst forward in a sprint and collect Lisandro Martínez’s long lob from the halfway line. An impeccable first touch with the outside of his left boot brought the ball under control; the second placed it past Cabo Verde’s inspirational goalkeeper Vozinha — who had another stellar game.It is a given that Messi is the focal point of Argentina’s attacks. But Argentina also has the likes of Julián Álvarez, Lautaro Martínez, Thiago Almada and Alexis Mac Allister, all well capable of launching and finishing attacks. Yet after taking the lead, La Albiceleste seemed satisfied with letting the opposition keep the ball.Until Deroy Duarte scored in the 59th minute.Messi is not as pacy as he used to be, but he picks his moments to devastating effect. He remains, however, tireless in urging his teammates on. Yet for the galaxy of superstars that Argentina has in its squad, nobody showed much of a killer instinct.Argentina scored eight goals in the group stage, with only two being scored by players other than Messi — both were scored when he was not on the pitch (from a free-kick and a penalty, which Messi would have taken if he were playing).Against Cabo Verde though, while the attacking players struggled to produce anything that really troubled the in-form Vozinha, it was defender Lisandro Martínez who struck a finish that would be the envy of the most potent strikers, in the second minute of extra time.And still Cabo Verde would not go away, as Cabral equalised with a wonder goal.The team from the island nation with a population of around 500,000 people — just about half that of Messi’s hometown of Rosario — were threatening to take the defending champions to penalties.It took one more swing of Messi’s foot to give Argentina the winner. In a 111th-minute corner, Messi delivered a perfect cross that Cristian Romero got on the end of. The header, though, came off Cabo Verde defender Diney’s hand and was officially declared an own goal.There was time for a few more attacks from Cabo Verde as they searched for a third equaliser, giving a partisan crowd and the Argentina defence a few more moments of heartburn.There is a certain charm in silencing a crowd. In front of 64,478 spectators inside Miami Stadium, where a great majority were Argentina fans, the game began with song and dance emerging from the stands. Then Cabo Verde silenced the festivities, twice.In the final few minutes there was noise once again, this time more out of a plea for their team to get over the line. Eventually, they did.Argentina march into the Round of 16 with Messi continuing to carry the team forward. But also with the need to search for a few more answers to the many questions that emerged in Miami.