Since this World Cup began, how many people have learned about Cape Verde, the small nation off the west coast of Africa? In its opening match, Cape Verde introduced itself with a draw against mighty Spain. Then it recorded another against Uruguay, and another against Saudi Arabia, making it the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup’s knockout round.
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Its reward? A date with Argentina in the round of 32. The Cape Verde vs. Argentina match was billed as a re-imagining of David vs. Goliath. It marked the largest discrepancy in world rankings between two teams in the knockout round ever. But as the game unfolded Friday night, the game really boiled to a contest between two individual players.
Argentina’s 39-year-old living legend Lionel Messi vs. Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha.
Messi struck first. In the 29th minute, Argentina sent a pass toward the net, as Messi beat the defense with an incredible first step. He settled the ball with a gentle touc and then poked the ball into the upper part of the net, before Vozinha really knew what happened.
That was Messi’s seventh goal of the tournament and his 20th overall in World Cup play, the most in history — extending the record he set earlier this tournament. Messi started this World Cup with a hat trick against Algeria, then followed with two more goals against Austria and another against Jordan for good measure.
In the second half Friday, he seemed on the precipice of scoring at least two more, if not for Vozinha. In the 63rd minute, Messi broke free on another run into the box, where he found himself one-on-one essentially with a Cape Verde defender on his left hip. Vozinha crept toward Messi, rather than wait on his back foot, and stuffed Messi’s right-footed shot.
About 10 minutes later, Messi lined up for a free kick just outside the box. As Cape Verde prepared its defense, the referee blew the whistle, meaning Messi could proceed. Trying to catch Cape Verde off-guard, Messi curled a left-footed shot toward the upper right corner of the net. But Vozinha dove, fully extended his body, and knocked the ball away.
Vozinha, 40 years old, is similar to Messi in that he’s also in the later stages of his career. But he didn’t become a household name until this tournament began, when he blanked Spain in a 0-0 draw that instantly made Vozinha a hero at home and abroad.
While Argentina has players who’ve played in some of the best leagues in the world, Vozinha starred for clubs in countries such as Cyprus and Slovakia. He has played for Cape Verde since 2012, and never played in the World Cup until his clean sheet against Spain.
Vozinha could only hold up in the face of a relentless Argentina attack for so long, however.
Early in extra time, in the 92nd minute, Argentina took the lead. After a Messi corner was headed to the right of the box, Lisandro Martínez collected the ball with a soft touch, then blasted a left-footed shot from a tight angle inside the near post.
Still, Vozinha would get another chance to play hero. After a shocking equalizer from Sidny Lopes Cabral tied the match at 2-2, Vozinha made his eighth save on a Messi shot from the top of the box.
