Lionel Messi has scored again, making Friday's contest against Cape Verde the record-extending eighth consecutive World Cup match in which Argentina's captain has delivered at least one goal.
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against Cape Verde during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla.
, Friday, July 3, 2026. Lionel Messi has scored again, making Friday's contest against Cape Verde the record-extending eighth consecutive World Cup match in which Argentina's captain has delivered at least one goal. Messi's goal in the 29th minute against Cape Verde was the 20th of his World Cup career, extending his record and moving him two goals ahead of France's Kylian Mbappé on the all-time list.
Messi has seven goals in this World Cup — one more than Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot as the top scorer of the tournament — and has scored 12 times in his last eight World Cup matches.
"For me, it represents a lot to be friends with him," said Rodrigo De Paul, Messi's teammate with Argentina and Inter Miami. "For me, friendship is one of the most important things that we all have and I consider myself fortunate to be there, to share these moments with him. "Messi had the game's first good chance Friday, his all-world left foot sending a shot skidding across the goal mouth but outside of the right post in the 15th minute.
After getting taken down, he had a 25-yard free kick three minutes later that was easily gobbled up by Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha. But the momentum was shifting, and before long, Messi broke through for a 1-0 lead. He timed his run perfectly on a ball played into the box by defender Lisandro Martinez to stay onside, controlled the pass and then lifted a shot over Vozinha's left shoulder from close range for his 124th international goal.
Only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 146, has more. Messi outstretched his arms and pointed to Martinez, saluting the pass, before teammates mobbed him in celebration. Messi and Mbappé are far from the only contenders in the Golden Boot race: Norway's Erling Haaland and England's Harry Kane each had five goals entering Friday, while four players — France's Ousmane Dembele, Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal, Brazil's Vinícius Júnior and Senegal's Ismaila Sarr — had four.
Sarr is out of the running since Senegal has been eliminated. Norway, England and France have advanced to the Round of 16; Argentina and Messi, the Inter Miami star who is widely considered the greatest player ever, would join them with a win over Cape Verde. Messi has never won the Golden Boot.
He finished second with seven goals — one behind Mbappé — while leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, and he tied for third with four goals in 2014. If there's a tie atop the goal list when the tournament ends, FIFA will use assists as the first tiebreaker and fewest minutes played as the second tiebreaker. Entering Friday, that meant Mbappé would have had the edge over Messi based on his 2-0 lead in assists.
Please follow us on Google to support usLionel Messi Argentina World Cup Cape Verde Kylian Mbappé
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Shell drops fuel prices again, introduces time-limited discount of up to 30.7%Shell on Thursday (July 2) morning kicked off its second round of price adjustments this week — this time, to its petrol prices.In a price board update published at 9am, the London-headquartered oil and gas company announced a 5-cent reduction across its petrol offerings.Its diesel price, which was reduced on June 29, remain unchanged.
Read more »
Cape Verde Aim to Stun Argentina in World Cup David vs Goliath ClashCape Verde face Argentina in a World Cup knockout match, with the underdogs hoping to pull off a historic upset against Lionel Messi and the defending champions.
Read more »
Argentina Survives Scare to Beat Cape Verde 3-2 in Extra TimeDefending champions Argentina have survived a major scare to beat World Cup debutants Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time, keeping their title defence alive in dramatic fashion. Cape Verde's performance marks a huge achievement on the world stage, as the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout rounds had dreamed of pulling off what would be the greatest upset in World Cup history.
Read more »