Argentina vs Cabo Verde | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Round of 32 | Preview and Prediction

Defending champions Argentina look to take another step towards defending their crown as they face Cape Verde, the 2026 World Cup’s favourite Cinderella story as they ride the crest of a wave and look to probably cause the biggest upset in World Cup history and cement themselves indelibly in World Cup lore and legend.

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Ro32: ARG vs CPV | 03:30 IST, 4 July 2026

Argentina have been largely untroubled and untested in their journey up until this stage so far. They have played like a side that are World Champions and their performances were the proof of the pudding that they do not have any intention of relinquishing their crown this time around.

While it was not a secret that Lionel Messi was bound to have a say in what could be his final appearance on the World Cup stage, the World Cup that he is having is astounding even for his lofty and magnificent standards. He is joint-top of the golden boot standings with 6 goals, and has been the conduit through which the entire Argentine team has been rotating around. In fact, up until the Jordan game where he was rested, he had scored all of his side’s goals (5). 

For a fun fact, Messi currently has more goals (6) than their opponents have scored in this World Cup so far (2), which goes to show how brilliant a World Cup campaign he has had so far. 

Cape Verde has been the story of the World Cup. No one gave them a chance to win a single game let alone qualify for the next round of the tournament. But they have gone above all odds and not only given some of the best sides a run for their money, but have been unbeaten in the tournament so far.

They have been defensively resolute, as displayed in their heroic effort to keep Spain down to long-range potshots, and have some serious pace to burn as ruthlessly shown in their game against Uruguay, where they time and again managed to get the better of their opponents on fast breaks.

However, they will face their biggest test and arguably their biggest opponents. It looks to be far too much of a daunting task, but they are ready to give it their all.

Argentina will definitely start this game as heavy favourites and it looks like a comfortable victory for the defending champions will be the most likely outcome of this contest.

Score Prediction: Argentina 3–0 Cape Verde
Venue: Miami Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, USA