Cape Verde almost pulled off another miracle here in the World Cup 2026 when they took on Argentina in the Round of 32. They pushed the reigning champions to the limit, but their luck ran out in the end in the heartbreaking 3-2 defeat.
The Blue Wave will leave the quadrennial tournament with their heads up high because they’ve defied the World Cup 2026 odds. Cape Verde significantly gained more admirers, and they hope to build off this in the foreseeable future.
Elsewhere, Egypt and Colombia are also through to the Round of 16 after eliminating Australia and Ghana, respectively. And like Argentina, they had to earn their spots the hard way. Following these World Cup 2026 results, the Round of 16 playing field is set. Argentina will take on Egypt on Tuesday, while Colombia have drawn Switzerland as their next opponents.
Here’s an SBOTOP recap of today’s set of knockout matches.
Australia 1-1 Egypt (aet, 2-4 on pens.)
Australia and Egypt opened the matchday with aplomb, as both sides went back and forth all the way into the penalty shootout.
During the first few minutes, Cristian Volpato had a chance for the Socceroos with his turn-and-volley move just outside the box, which sailed over the crossbar. Egypt made Australia pay for the miss, as Emam Ashour drew first blood with his header following a beautiful pass from Karim Hafez in the 13th minute.
Egypt should’ve made it 2-0 just 10 seconds after halftime, as Omar Marmoush raced in behind Australia’s backline. However, his low shot went wide right. This time, it was Australia who made Egypt pay for the miss, as Mohamed Hany scored his second own goal of the tournament on Aiden O’Neill’s free-kick in the 55th minute.
With the game level at 1-1, the Pharaohs largely struggled to break down the Socceroos’ defence. But they almost snatched the victory in stoppage time when they forced Patrick Beach into a save to keep out Ramy Rabia’s header. Mohamed Salah also missed a glorious chance two minutes into extra time, when his attempt went over the crossbar.
During the penalty shootout, Harry Souttar missed the opener for Australia. Mahmoud Saber, Jackson Irvine, Ramy Rabia, Awer Mabil, and Mohamed Salah scored theirs before Lucas Herrington clipped the bar. Hossam Abdelmaguid subsequently clinched the win for the Pharaohs with his cool finish.
Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde (aet)
In a classic David vs. Goliath matchup, it was Argentina that struck first, but Cape Verde always had a reply because they just wouldn’t quit.
Lionel Messi tried his luck in the 15th minute when he dragged an effort wide of the right-hand post before firing a long-range shot straight into the gloves of Vozinha. However, the Inter Miami forward eventually opened the scoring in the 29th minute, as he fired the ball into the roof of the net following a beautiful dish from Lisandro Martinez.
La Albiceleste struggled to create chances after that, and Deroy Duarte scored the equaliser for Cape Verde right before the hour mark with a sharp low shot through Lisandro Martinez and Emiliano Martinez’s legs.
Argentina reclaimed the lead two minutes into extra time, as Lisandro Martinez fired the ball high past Vozinha after collecting Alexis Mac Allister’s flick-on from Messi’s corner. But 11 minutes later, Cape Verde hit back with Sidny Lopes Cabral’s stupendous curler.
Desperate for a winner to avoid a penalty shootout, Argentina had one more chance and succeeded. During the 111th minute, Messi’s corner found its way to Cristian Romero, whose header deflected off Diney Borges and into the back of the net. Cabral had one more chance for the Blue Wave, but Emiliano Martinez parried away his free-kick.
Colombia 1-0 Ghana
Unlike the previous two games, the Colombia-Ghana match was decided by only one goal, and it was Jhon Arias who proved to be the difference.
Ghana had the first chance of the match, as Thomas Partey’s volley from distance went wide left in the first two minutes. Both teams lost players to injury within the opening 13 minutes, with Jhon Cordoba leaving the pitch for Colombia before Ghana’s Marvin Senaya hobbled off almost in tears.
The disruption didn’t deter Colombia, as Los Cafeteros took the lead for good in the 14th minute. Luis Suarez, who came on for Cordoba, made an immediate impact, as his cross from the right side found Arias for an easy tap-in.
Luis Diaz thought he scored the insurance goal for Colombia with his sliding finish in the 56th minute, but the referee disallowed the goal for offside. Since then, Ghana never truly threatened to force extra time.
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