⚽ New season loading — sign up free for AI predictions on every match →
Login Sign Up

Argentina vs Cape Verde Islands Prediction

World Cup World Cup · Round of 32
FT
Post on X
Argentina

Argentina

Home
3 : 2
HT 1 - 0
Cape Verde Islands

Cape Verde Islands

Away
AI call Argentina to win
86%
12%
2%
Home Win Draw Away Win

Argentina vs Cape Verde Islands prediction: Sportiko gives Argentina a 86% chance of winning, Cape Verde Islands 2% and the draw 12%. Last updated 23 Jul 2026, 11:21.

Premium picks

Premium
  • Home to Score 2+ 73%
  • 1st Half Over 0.5 73%
Premium members had these picks before kick-off. See Premium picks

Match Report

Argentina edged past Cape Verde Islands 3–2 in a dramatic World Cup Round of 32 tie that went deep into extra time. Lionel Messi broke the deadlock on 29 minutes, and Argentina carried their slender lead into the break despite dominating possession at 64% and generating an expected goals figure of 2.16 against Cape Verde's 0.45.

The contest was turned on its head shortly after the restart when Deroy Duarte equalised on 59 minutes, prompting a flurry of substitutions from both sides. Cape Verde grew in confidence, and Sidny Lopes Cabral put them ahead for the first time in the 103rd minute, stunning the South American giants. Lisandro Martínez had briefly restored parity in the 92nd minute, but it was an own goal from Diney Borges in the 111th minute that ultimately settled the tie in Argentina's favour.

The pre-match AI model had rated an Argentina win at 86% — a call that looked very shaky for long stretches of extra time. Despite outshooting Cape Verde 22 to 16, Argentina were made to work far harder than the statistics suggested they should have been.

AI-generated report based on match data.

Timeline

Lionel Messi assist: Lisandro Martínez
29' ⚽ 1–0
HT 1–0
⚽ 1–1 59'
Deroy Duarte assist: Ryan Mendes
Lautaro Martínez ⇄ Julián Alvarez
63' ⇄
Thiago Almada ⇄ Nicolás González
64' ⇄
⇄ 67'
Laros Duarte ⇄ Jamiro Monteiro
⇄ 67'
Nuno Da Costa ⇄ Dailon Rocha Livramento
▮ 68'
Kevin Lenini Yellow Card
⇄ 80'
Jovane Cabral ⇄ Hélio Varela
⇄ 80'
Ryan Mendes ⇄ Willy Semedo
Rodrigo De Paul ⇄ Leandro Paredes
84' ⇄
Facundo Medina ⇄ Nicolás Tagliafico
86' ⇄
Lisandro Martínez assist: Alexis Mac Allister
92' ⚽ 2–1
⇄ 100'
Deroy Duarte ⇄ Yannick Semedo
⇄ 100'
Kevin Lenini ⇄ Gilson Tavares
⚽ 2–2 103'
Sidny Lopes Cabral assist: Yannick Semedo
Nahuel Molina ⇄ Gonzalo Montiel
104' ⇄
Diney Borges Own Goal
111' ⚽ 3–2
Gonzalo Montiel Yellow Card
115' ▮
FT 3–2
Argentina

Match Stats

Cape Verde Islands
64% Ball Possession 36%
2.16 Expected Goals (xG) 0.45
22 Total Shots 16
10 Shots on Goal 5
5 Shots off Goal 5
7 Blocked Shots 6
15 Shots insidebox 6
7 Shots outsidebox 10
8 Corner Kicks 8
3 Offsides 2
13 Fouls 12
1 Yellow Cards 1
Red Cards
3 Goalkeeper Saves 8
849 Total passes 476
779 Passes accurate 408
92% Passes % 86%
-0.60 goals_prevented -0.60
Argentina
Player Rating Min G A Shots Passes Tackles
10 Lionel Messi F 9.3 120' 1 – 7 43 (36%) 1
6 Lisandro Martínez D 9.2 120' 1 1 1 120 (117%) –
7 Rodrigo De Paul M 7.6 84' – – – 77 (73%) 1
13 Cristian Romero D 7.2 120' – – 1 117 (112%) 2
5 Leandro Paredes M 7.2 36' – – 1 41 (39%) 1
25 Facundo Medina D 7.0 86' – – – 47 (43%) 3
24 Enzo Fernández M 7.0 120' – – 3 112 (103%) 1
23 Emiliano Martínez G 6.9 120' – – – 28 (22%) –
20 Alexis Mac Allister M 6.9 120' – 1 – 89 (80%) 4
3 Nicolás Tagliafico D 6.9 34' – – – 19 (18%) 3
16 Thiago Almada M 6.7 64' – – – 34 (30%) –
15 Nicolás González F 6.5 56' – – 2 29 (21%) 3
9 Julián Alvarez F 6.5 57' – – – 22 (20%) –
4 Gonzalo Montiel D 6.3 16' – – – 5 (3%) –
22 Lautaro Martínez F 6.2 63' – – – 12 (12%) –
26 Nahuel Molina D 6.2 104' – – – 54 (50%) 3
Cape Verde Islands
Player Rating Min G A Shots Passes Tackles
1 Vozinha G 8.5 120' – – – 32 (22%) –
13 Sidny Lopes Cabral D 7.3 120' 1 – 2 45 (42%) 1
14 Deroy Duarte M 7.2 100' 1 – 2 43 (38%) 1
6 Kevin Lenini M 7.0 100' – – 1 56 (50%) 3
4 Pico D 6.9 120' – – – 55 (47%) 2
16 Yannick Semedo M 6.9 20' – 1 1 21 (18%) –
7 Jovane Cabral M 6.7 80' – – – 19 (15%) 2
26 Hélio Varela F 6.7 40' – – 1 18 (16%) –
20 Ryan Mendes M 6.6 80' – 1 1 18 (17%) 1
10 Jamiro Monteiro M 6.5 53' – – – 30 (26%) 4
9 Gilson Tavares F 6.5 20' – – – 1 (1%) –
19 Dailon Rocha Livramento F 6.3 53' – – – 10 (5%) 1
17 Willy Semedo F 6.3 40' – – – 8 (8%) –
22 Steven Moreira D 6.2 120' – – – 37 (34%) –
3 Diney Borges D 6.2 120' – – 2 58 (49%) 3
15 Laros Duarte M 6.2 67' – – – 18 (15%) 1
21 Nuno Da Costa F 6.0 67' – – – 7 (5%) –
Premium

Unlock the AI's full read on Argentina vs Cape Verde Islands

  • All 70+ probability markets
  • AI Deep-Dive match report
  • Value Edge — model vs market
  • Live in-play co-pilot
Go Premium
Confidence High (86%)

At a glance

Our lean
Argentina to win
Premium
Unlock all 70+ probability models

Upgrade to Premium for every market, AI match previews and live in-play edges.

Upgrade Now
Argentina
LWWWW
Cape Verde Islands
LDDDD

Match summary

In the upcoming World Cup match, Argentina faces Cape Verde Islands at a neutral venue. Argentina boasts a strong squad with a wealth of experience and technical skill, having a FIFA ranking significantly higher than Cape Verde. Historically, Argentina has showcased superior performance in international tournaments, underlined by their recent success in Copa America. Conversely, Cape Verde, while improving in recent years, lacks the depth and pedigree of their opponents. This match could underline the disparity in quality, with Argentina likely to dominate possession and create more scoring opportunities.
Advanced analysis

Expected goals (xG)

How many goals each side is likely to create, on average.

Premium
Unlock all 70+ probability models

Upgrade to Premium for every market, AI match previews and live in-play edges.

Upgrade Now

Most likely scores

Model probability of each exact scoreline.

Premium
Unlock all 70+ probability models

Upgrade to Premium for every market, AI match previews and live in-play edges.

Upgrade Now

Players in form

Argentina
L. Messi 8 gls
Cape Verde Islands

No scorer data.

AI match tools

Instant AI analysis of this match.

Why this pick? · Premium AI Deep-Dive · Premium

You're seeing the free 1X2 result — unlock all 70+ models: goals, both-teams-to-score, the correct-score grid, handicaps, halves & more.

Unlock all models
Premium
Unlock all 70+ probability models

Upgrade to Premium for every market, AI match previews and live in-play edges.

Upgrade Now

Head to Head: Argentina vs Cape Verde Islands

No head-to-head history found between these teams.

Argentina — Recent Form

Date Opponent Result Score
19 Jul A Spain L 1 - 0
15 Jul A England W 1 - 2
12 Jul H Switzerland W 3 - 1
07 Jul H Egypt W 3 - 2
03 Jul H Cape Verde Islands W 3 - 2

Cape Verde Islands — Recent Form

Date Opponent Result Score
03 Jul A Argentina L 3 - 2
27 Jun H Saudi Arabia D 0 - 0
21 Jun A Uruguay D 2 - 2
15 Jun A Spain D 0 - 0
30 Mar H Finland D 1 - 1

World Cup Standings

Group A

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Mexico
3 3 0 0 +6 9
2
South Africa
3 1 1 1 -1 4
4
Czechia
3 0 1 2 -4 1

Group B

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Switzerland
3 2 1 0 +4 7
2
Canada
3 1 1 1 +5 4
4
Qatar
3 0 1 2 -8 1

Group C

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Brazil
3 2 1 0 +6 7
2
Morocco
3 2 1 0 +3 7
4
Haiti
3 0 0 3 -6 0

Group D

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
USA
3 2 0 1 +4 6
2
Australia
3 1 1 1 0 4
4
Türkiye
3 1 0 2 -2 3

Group E

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Germany
3 2 0 1 +6 6
2
Ivory Coast
3 2 0 1 +2 6
4
Curaçao
3 0 1 2 -8 1

Group F

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Netherlands
3 2 1 0 +6 7
2
Japan
3 1 2 0 +4 5
4
Tunisia
3 0 0 3 -10 0

Group G

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Belgium
3 1 2 0 +4 5
2
Egypt
3 1 2 0 +2 5
4
New Zealand
3 0 1 2 -6 1

Group H

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Spain
3 2 1 0 +5 7
2
Cape Verde Islands
3 0 3 0 0 3
4
Saudi Arabia
3 0 2 1 -4 2

Group I

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
France
3 3 0 0 +8 9
2
Norway
3 2 0 1 +1 6
4
Iraq
3 0 0 3 -11 0

Group J

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Argentina
3 3 0 0 +7 9
2
Austria
3 1 1 1 0 4
4
Jordan
3 0 0 3 -5 0

Group K

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Colombia
3 2 1 0 +3 7
2
Portugal
3 1 2 0 +5 5
4
Uzbekistan
3 0 0 3 -9 0

Group L

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
England
3 2 1 0 +4 7
2
Croatia
3 2 0 1 0 6
4
Panama
3 0 0 3 -4 0

Group Stage

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1
Congo DR
3 1 1 1 +1 4
2
Sweden
3 1 1 1 0 4
3
Ghana
3 1 1 1 0 4
4
Ecuador
3 1 1 1 0 4
5
Bosnia & Herzegovina
3 1 1 1 -1 4
6
Algeria
3 1 1 1 -2 4
7
Paraguay
3 1 1 1 -2 4
8
Senegal
3 1 0 2 +2 3
9
Iran
3 0 3 0 0 3
10
South Korea
3 1 0 2 -1 3
11
Scotland
3 1 0 2 -3 3
12
Uruguay
3 0 2 1 -1 2

Argentina

Formation: 4-4-2 Coach: Lionel Scaloni
23 Martinez
25 Medina
6 Martinez
13 Romero
26 Molina
16 Almada
24 Fernandez
20 Allister
7 Paul
22 Martinez
10 Messi

Starting XI

# Player Pos
23 E. Martinez G
26 N. Molina D
13 C. Romero D
6 L. Martinez D
25 F. Medina D
7 R. de Paul M
20 A. Mac Allister M
24 E. Fernandez M
16 T. Almada M
10 L. Messi F
22 L. Martinez F

Substitutes

12 G. Rulli G
1 J. Musso G
19 N. Otamendi D
5 L. Paredes M
14 E. Palacios M
4 G. Montiel D
15 N. Gonzalez F
17 G. Simeone F
3 N. Tagliafico D
11 G. Lo Celso M
2 M. Senesi D
9 J. Alvarez F
21 J. Lopez F
8 V. Barco M
18 N. Paz F

Cape Verde Islands

Formation: 4-1-4-1 Coach: Pedro Leitao Brito
1 Vozinha
13 Cabral
3 Borges
4 Lopes
22 Moreira
6 Lenini
7 Cabral
14 Duarte
15 Duarte
20 Mendes
21 Costa

Starting XI

# Player Pos
1 Vozinha G
22 S. Moreira D
4 R. Lopes D
3 D. Borges D
13 S. Lopes Cabral D
6 K. Lenini M
20 R. Mendes M
15 L. Duarte M
14 D. Duarte M
7 J. Cabral M
21 N. Da Costa F

Substitutes

12 M. Rosa G
23 dos Santos CJ G
11 G. Rodrigues F
10 J. Monteiro M
5 L. Costa D
25 K. Pires D
8 Joao Paulo M
18 T. Arcanjo M
26 H. Varela F
2 Stopira D
17 W. Semedo F
16 Y. Semedo M
9 Benchimol F
19 D. Livramento F
24 W. Pina D

Sportiko Assistant

Features, the contest, or football

Sign up free to chat with the Sportiko Assistant — ask about predictions, the contest, anything football.

Sign up free Already have an account? Log in