Messi, Argentina vs. Cabo Verde encabezan la jornada 23 del Mundial

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, 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. 

Being a Successful Underdog: Kasper Schmeichel compares Cape Verde & Leicester City's Magical Run ðŸ†

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.