Argentina v Cape Verde Islands prediction, lineups & tips: World Cup 2026 round of 32

Cape Verde Islands arrive at the FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 32 as the smallest nation ever to reach this stage of the tournament. Their reward is a date with Lionel Messi and the defending champions in Miami, where Argentina have been one of the most clinical sides at the entire tournament.

Argentina finished top of Group J with maximum points, three wins, eight goals scored, and only one conceded across their 3-0 win over Algeria, 2-0 victory against Austria and 3-1 defeat of Jordan. Lionel Messi sits joint-top of the World Cup 2026 scoring charts with six goals from three appearances, a tally that extended his all-time World Cup record to 18 goals when he came off the bench to curl in a free kick against Jordan in Arlington.

Lionel Scaloni had the luxury of rotating against Jordan with qualification already secured, and the fitness of his squad looks in good shape heading into the knockout rounds. The only real doubt coming out of the group stage was Cristian Romero, who appeared to pick up a knee problem in the win over Austria. The Tottenham Hotspur centre-back is reportedly fine and is expected to return to the starting XI alongside Lisandro Martinez.

Scaloni was asked about Cape Verde at his post-Jordan press conference and offered a deliberately cautious message. "They'll make life difficult for us," he said. He also took aim at FIFA's scheduling, noting publicly that a 23:00 local kickoff in Miami's summer heat was "a difficult kickoff time to understand."

Cape Verde's group stage run was one of the stories of the tournament. Making their World Cup debut, the island nation were drawn alongside Spain and Uruguay in Group H, a section most expected to end their adventure inside a fortnight. Instead, Bubista's side drew all three matches, keeping clean sheets against Spain (0-0) and Saudi Arabia (0-0) and holding Uruguay to a 2-2 draw that saw goalkeeper Vozinha produce a series of saves that earned him a prominent place in the competition's early coverage.

Three consecutive draws were enough to advance as runners-up, and the Cape Verdeans arrive in the knockout round with a genuine belief they can cause problems. Bubista, speaking to ESPN ahead of the Argentina tie, did not hide his ambition. "We believe in ourselves and our strengths, our players and our team," he said. "We know this will be a very difficult game, but we can hurt our opponent. We are brave and ambitious and we will play to win."

The numbers, though, present a harder picture. Cape Verde averaged just 0.82 expected goals per match in the group stage and failed to score in two of their three games. Their shots on target average of 2.33 per game is a fraction of Argentina's 5. Midfielder Telmo Arcanjo is the only confirmed absentee with a muscle injury; Jamiro Monteiro and Kevin Lenini both recovered from Group H knocks to feature in the final fixture.

Argentina v Cape Verde Islands kicks off at 23:00 BST on Friday 3 July 2026. In the UK, the match is live on ITV1 and available to stream free via ITVX and the STV Player in Scotland.