Messi, Argentina vs. Cape Verde Headlines Match Day 23 At The World Cup
The round of 32 wraps up on Friday at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and the day begins in Dallas where Australia and Egypt meet in a game where a win would be historically important for either team. Then in Miami, one of the tournament’s most heavily favored contenders in Argentina will face a true Cinderella team in Cape Verde that will try to pull off what would widely be considered as the greatest World Cup knockout upset of all time. The day and the round then ends in Kansas City, where emerging dark horse contender Colombia will face a Ghana team that plays with a defensive approach and a desire to slow the game down to frustrate opponents. Here is all you need to know for Friday at the World Cup. When: Friday, July 3, 2 p.m. ET Where: Dallas TV: FOX Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One Australia takes on Egypt at Dallas Stadium to kick off the day. Neither nation has ever won a World Cup knockout match in their respective histories. The Socceroos have played two knockout games in their history, losing both in very close and hard-fought games against the eventual champions. In 2006, it was a 1-0 loss to Italy when the game’s only goal came deep into stoppage time. In 2022, it was a 2-1 loss to Argentina. For Egypt, this is the country’s first time past the group stage. Its only other knockout appearance at the World Cup came in 1934 when the tournament that year did not have group stages and was instead single elimination (and Egypt lost to Hungary 4-2 in the first round). The big storyline in this game is the injury issues for Egypt, which begins with the team’s captain and all-time greatest player, Mohamed Salah. In the team’s group stage finale against Iran, the former Liverpool forward was forced off with a hamstring strain in the 57th minute. Head coach Hossam Hassan is optimistic that Salah will play, but Egypt’s offense will struggle to compete if Salah is not fit. It is not just the Salah injury for Egypt, left-back Ahmed Fatouh and central defender Mohamed Abdelmonem are doubtful. This makes Egypt’s backline also vulnerable. Australia enters this contest having only scored in one of the team’s group stage games, the opening 2-0 win over Türkiye. The Socceroos followed that win with a 2-0 loss to the United States and a 0-0 draw with Paraguay. The win over Türkiye showed that Australia is very comfortable sitting deep and looking to hit on counter-attacks. Tony Popovic’s team likely won’t be quite that defensive, but it will be conservative in its approach. Neither team likes to play an up-tempo, fast-paced game. This game will likely be slow in the early goings, with teams looking for individual quality in the final third or set pieces to make the difference. An early goal could change that and force the opponent out of its shell. Player to Watch It was a shocking decision shortly before the first game when Popovic benched veteran starter and now former captain Matthew Ryan in favor of the inexperienced Beach, who plays domestically for Melbourne City. Beach has only five caps with Australia but put in a stunning performance in the win over Türkiye and then earned a second clean sheet against Paraguay. Beach is likely going to need to be at his best again if Australia is to advance. When: Friday, July 3, 6 p.m. ET Where: Miami TV: FOX Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One Friday’s second game takes us to Miami, where an Argentina team steeped in history plays a Cape Verde team that had no meaningful accomplishments prior to this tournament. Cape Verde has been one of the best Cinderella stories of any recent World Cup and the Blue Sharks surprisingly advanced to the round of 32 with a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia to finish second in its group with three points from three draws. The reward is a game against reigning champion Argentina, who has won all three of its group stage games by multi-goal margins and boasts arguably the greatest player to have ever played. What has made Cape Verde’s story so endearing to fans is that the team was drawn into a difficult group with former champions Spain and Uruguay along with Saudi Arabia. The archipelago nation of just 525,000 opened the tournament with a stunning 0-0 draw with Spain and then fought Uruguay to a 2-2 draw. When the group stage ended, Cape Verde was undefeated. Under coach Pedro Leitão Brito (commonly known as Bubista), Capo Verde sits very deep in a 4-5-1 formation and offers opponents very little space. In back of that formation is 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who has been one of the tournament standouts, especially for his effort against Spain. But not everything is positive with this Cape Verde team ahead of this game. This week it was revealed that captain Ryan Mendes is under a criminal investigation in New Zealand over allegations that he raped a woman in March. How the team and its federation handle this matter and respond is unknown. As for Argentina, it will be on the front foot from the opening whistle and looking to break down a very compact defense. But with individual talent such as Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez leading the attack, Cape Verde is likely to be overwhelmed. The Blue Sharks held Spain to a 0-0 draw, but it is impossible to see them also keeping Argentina at bay. La Albiceleste has won its last 10 games and are playing like the team to beat. It is an obvious pick to say Messi is the player to watch, but there is no other realistic pick. Messi now has 19 World Cup goals and at age 39, he is the tournament’s co-leading scorer and arguably the best player yet again. It is hard to see the Blue Sharks keeping him off the scoreboard when no one else can. When: Friday, July 3, 9:30 p.m. ET Where: Kansas City TV: FOX Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One The final game of the round of 32 takes us to Kansas City Stadium where heavily favored Colombia takes on Ghana in Friday’s nightcap. Colombia has lived up to its reputation as one of the potential dark horses of the tournament after winning Group K with wins over Uzbekistan and DR Congo while playing Portugal to a 0-0 draw where it had the better of play. Néstor Lorenzo’s team plays with a very fluid and very attack-oriented style. Led by top attacker Luis Diaz, captain James Rodriguez, midfielder Gustavo Puerta, and attacking fullback Daniel Muñoz, Colombia will be a very difficult team to eliminate at this World Cup. On top of that, Colombia is one of the most well-supported teams in the tournament and Kansas City Stadium is expected to be packed with very loud La Tricolor supporters. Ghana advanced as one of the third-place teams, behind England and Croatia in Group L. Recently hired head coach Carlos Queiroz has done a great job repairing the team’s previously broken defense in quick order. But part of his successful turnaround has been bringing about a very physical style of play, led by defensive midfielder Thomas Partey, that often turns games into a grind for opponents. Ghana also does not attack very often as it only had 15 total shots in the three group stage games. The test for this game is whether Ghana can take Colombia out of its free-flowing and open style. Ghana’s only chance is to turn this game into an ugly and physical contest. Colombia will be hoping to avoid that. Colombia is heavily favored in this game, but the drastic difference in styles should be a concern. Player to Watch Colombia’s captain has not had much club success in recent years, but he continues to be an excellent player for his national team. For Rodriguez, the test is for him not just to play well, but to also be a leader on the field for his team against an opponent that will aim to frustrate with a much slower and more physical approach.
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