Upsets, penalty shootouts and late winners have defined the first week of the 2026 World Cup knockout stage. Now, the Round of 32 wraps up Friday with three more win-or-go-home matchups.
Australia and Egypt kicked off the day’s slate with a penalty shootout thriller. Emam Ashour got Egypt on the board early, but a second-half own goal knotted things up and the teams battled through extra time without another. Egypt then survived on a 4-2 margin in the shootout.
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Cape Verde‘s memorable World Cup run continues against Lionel Messi and the reigning world champions. The Blue Sharks allowed only two goals in the group stage, but now face an Argentina attack led by Golden Boot contender Messi.
Colombia enters Friday’s match against Ghana with history on its side after winning Group K unbeaten and taking its last four matches against African teams. Ghana, a third-place finisher from Group L, is trying to upset Los Cafeteros and earn a Round of 16 meeting with Switzerland.
Follow the World Cup right here on Yahoo Sports with live updates, highlights, results and the latest news below:
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Kari Anderson
Second half of extra time is underway, and Cape Verde’s hopes are alive after that incredible equalizer from Sidny Lopes Cabral. 15 more minutes remaining before this game heads to penalties.
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Kari Anderson
Vozinha continues to amaze, earning his eighth save of the match. This has been one of the greatest defensive performances to witness.
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Kari Anderson
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Kari Anderson
Absolute madness, as Sidny Lopes Cabral scores for the Blue Sharks in extra time to pull to a 2-2 draw. The defender hits an incredible, curling shot into the upper right corner to keep the game rolling.
Lopes Cabral goes all the way up to the stands after the goal, greeting his family, absolutely ecstatic. What a game this has been.
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Kari Anderson
The Blue Sharks use both of their remaining substitutions, bringing off Duarte and Kevin Pina, who is sitting on a yellow. Yannick Semedo and Gilson Benchimol replace them on the field.
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Kari Anderson
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Kari Anderson
Lisandro Martínez, who had a beautiful assist to Messi’s goal earlier, sends Argentina ahead with a great hit, coming around from the back post off a corner kick.
Vozinha can’t help but applaud his opponent after the goal.
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Kari Anderson
With captain Ryan Mendes taken out in the 80th minute, Vozinha is now wearing the captain’s armband for Cape Verde.
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Kari Anderson
We’re headed to extra time! After Cape Verde picked up a stunning equalizer, Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, couldn’t break through for a game-winner despite 15 shots (eight of which were on-frame).
Vozinha is once again playing out of his mind, picking up seven saves and denying Messi multiple times. What a game this has been…and we’ve got 30 more minutes to go.
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Kari Anderson
The Cape Verde keeper pulls off another incredible save, blocking another Messi free kick to keep the game level. Seven saves in all for Vozinha tonight.
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Kari Anderson
Another dangerous free kick for Lionel Messi, as the captain gets tripped just outside the box. Messi has a chance to save this game with four minutes remaining in stoppage time.
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Kari Anderson
Leandro Paredes takes a big shot from distance, but Vozinha steps in front of it, blocking the shot once before wrangling the ball with relative ease.
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Kari Anderson
Messi sends in a ball to Alexis Mac Allister in the box, but it hits the arm of Pico Lopes in the process. However, VAR confirms that Mac Allister hit the ball into Lopes’ face first before it hit the defender’s arm, meaning that the contact is not considered a handball.
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Kari Anderson
Multiple Argentina players end up on the ground, with Facundo Medina went down behind the play, and Enzo Fernández has been getting stretched out with a potential cramp.
Lionel Scaloni ends up uses both of his final subs to take out Medina and Rodrigo de Paul. Leandro Paredes and Nicolás Tagliafico are coming in.
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Kari Anderson
Cape Verde’s defense has been outstanding over the past several minutes, fending off multiple Argentinian set pieces and a couple of great looks into the box. It’s gotten close, but they’ve held strong.
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Kari Anderson
Enzo Fernández is visibly frustrated after missing that shot, which missed the fingertips of Vozinha. But Cape Verde is saved by Roberto Lopes, who makes an outstanding clearance that sails within inches of an own goal. Still tied up for now.
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Kari Anderson
The Blue Sharks make two substitutions, taking off Jovane Cabral and captain Ryan Mendes. Willy Semedo and Hélio Varela come on.
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Kari Anderson
Kevin Pina, who is already on a yellow, clips an Argentinian player’s foot and gets a talking-to from referee Drew Fischer. That will certainly be his last warning if he doesn’t want to get a red card.
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Kari Anderson
Cape Verde gets a long free kick, and looks as if they’re trying to score from a significant distance, but Kevin Pina’s shot dribbles through the Argentinian traffic and goes well wide. Whoops!
