Argentina and Cape Verde will compete in the last 32 at 03:45 in the morning at the Miami Stadium in the United States. This is considered the most unequal match in World Cup history.
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Lionel Messi vs. Vojinha. This is a World Cup match that no one wanted. But it is now a matter of great concern for fans.
Argentina and Cape Verde will compete in the last 32 at the Miami Stadium in the United States on Saturday at 03:45 Nepali time.
Messi, considered the greatest footballer in world football, is facing 40-year-old goalkeeper Vojinha. While Vojinha was unaware until three weeks ago.
Cape Verde is playing in the World Cup for the first time. The team has already entered the knockout stage, proving many people's expectations wrong. There can be no better story than this in this World Cup.
There was hardly anyone who wished Cape Verde well when they played against European champions Spain. Cape Verde surprised world football by holding Spain to a goalless draw. This is considered one of the surprising results in the history of the World Cup, a game that Cape Verde did not even win.
The team then drew two more times against two-time World Cup champions Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to advance to the last 32 as group runners-up.
Cape Verde's next match was against Argentina, which is considered to be the most unequal match in World Cup history.
Argentina has given world football many stories and is the current world champion. Their rivals Cape Verde qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2013.
Cape Verde was a colony of Portugal when Argentina participated in the first edition of the World Cup in 1930. Argentina lost in the final to Uruguay and finished as runners-up.
Argentina has only failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Argentina withdrew from the 1938, 1950, and 1954 World Cups due to World War II.
Argentina won its first World Cup in 1978, defeating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final. Argentina won its second World Cup in 1986, defeating West Germany 3-2. Four years ago, Argentina won its third World Cup in Qatar, defeating France on penalties.
Argentina has also had great success in continental competitions. The team has won the Copa America 16 times, including the last two editions. Argentina has not been outside the top three in the FIFA rankings since March 2022. France overtook the team last year to become the world's number one team.
The Cape Verde Football Association was registered in 1982 and became a FIFA member in 1986. Argentina won the World Cup for the second time that year. Cape Verde, known as the 'Blue Sharks', first qualified for the World Cup in 2002 and had no real chance of qualifying until 2022.
Four years ago, the team lost only one match to Nigeria, but won the match in Lagos in Qatar, where the team drew 1-1 in the qualifiers. In the 2026 qualifiers, they drew with Cameroon, who have qualified for the World Cup eight times. Cape Verde have lost only one of their 10 matches on this tour.
The team played the African Cup of Nations for the first time, only 13 years ago. The team reached the quarterfinals and was defeated by Ghana. Cape Verde has now played in the World Cup four times and reached the quarterfinals again in 2023. Despite reaching the World Cup, the team failed to qualify for the 2025 African Cup of Nations.
Cape Verde entered the top 100 of the FIFA rankings in 2006, reaching 36th place after playing their first African Cup of Nations. In 2014, the team reached its highest point in the rankings at 27th place.
In the last nine years, Cape Verde has been ranked between 60th and 80th place, and before playing Argentina, the team was in 64th place.
Cape Verde is an island country located in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of 10 islands. Nine of them are inhabited. Cape Verde was uninhabited until the 15th century before the Portuguese arrived. It only gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
The islands of Cape Verde are spread over 4,033 square kilometers. According to the United Nations, its population is 53 million. In this respect, Cape Verde is the third smallest country in the World Cup, after Curacao and Iceland. Cape Verde is the smallest country to reach the knockout stage.
Even in this respect, Cape Verde cannot be compared to Argentina. According to United Nations data, Argentina has a population of 46 million and an area of 2.28 million square kilometers. Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world and the second largest in South America after Brazil.
