Argentina face Africa’s surprise package in the last 32: Cape Verde | OneFootball

Uruguay completed one of the biggest failures in its history and, after losing 1-0 to Spain, was eliminated in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. With its scoreless draw against Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde made history, secured second place in Group H and will face the Argentina National Team in the round of 32. The African side, making its World Cup debut, drew all its matches and secured a historic qualification.

Argentina and Cape Verde will play on July 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami against the runner-up of Group H.

The possible path of the Argentina National Team in the World Cup

Argentina knows that, if it gets past Cape Verde, it will face the winner of the matchup between the runners-up of Groups D and G. After its draw against Paraguay, Australia secured its place as the runner-up to the United States, while the other group will be decided from 12:00 a.m., and any of the four teams in it (Belgium, Iran, Egypt or New Zealand) could take second place.

For this, it is important to keep in mind the tiebreak criteria, which from this World Cup onward are governed by the Olympic system. This format means that in cases of teams tied on points, it is resolved as follows:

Messi, record: 18 goals in the World Cup. (@Argentina)

In the quarterfinals, the toughest opponents could be Portugal, which will probably contest first place in its group with Colombia, and Switzerland or Canada, members of Group B along with Qatar and Bosnia.

In the semifinals, on the upper side of the bracket for Lionel Scaloni’s team, Brazil and England could appear, as long as both finish first in their respective groups.

On the other side of the bracket will be the winners of Groups E, I, F, H and G. In other words, the national team would only meet Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain or Belgium in a hypothetical final, as long as those teams finish first in their groups.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.