Lionel Messi has the chance to move ahead of Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot when Argentina face Cape Verde in the round of 32. Both men have scored six times so far but France captain Mbappe has played a game more.Messi will fancy his chances against a team ranked 64th in the world.The defending world champions wont underestimate Cape Verde, though, after they qualified from the group stage as Group H runners-up having secured a goalless draw with Spain in their opener.Table of ContentsWhere to watch Argentina v Cape Verde: TV channel, live online streamsWorld Cup 2026: Argentina v Cape Verde statsWhere to watch Argentina v Cape Verde: TV channel, live online streamsKick-off on Friday is at 23:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, live TV coverage is on ITV1.Streaming is viaITVs websiteand ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.World Cup 2026: Argentina v Cape Verde statsLionel Messi has scored in each of his last seven World Cup appearances for Argentina, setting a new tournament recordThe eight-time Ballon dOr winner has 11 goals in total across that run (5 in the last 4 matches in Qatar 2022, 6 in three in 2026)Against Jordan on matchday three, Argentina became the second team to start two players aged at least 38 in a single World Cup edition, with Messi and Nicolas Otamendi following Brazils Thiago Silva and Dani Alves in 2022Nicolas Otamendis 17 World Cup appearances make the River Plate player Argentinas most-capped defender in the competition history, ahead of Oscar Ruggeri (16)Since the start of Qatar 2022, Argentina have been awarded seven penalties in 10 World Cup matchesOnly Spain, Mexico and Brazil bettered Cape Verdes record of two goals conceded during the group stage, with only La Roja and El Tri Spain keeping more clean sheets than the two they collectedCape Verde had 25.7% possession against Spain and were outshot 27 to six and 34.8% against Uruguay, with an attempts count of 12-17Against Saudi Arabia, however, they then had 51% of play, 15 attempts to their opponents seven and finished on an expected goals total of 1.39 xG to the Green Falcons 0.39They are the first debutants to go unbeaten in the group stage at the World Cup since Senegal in 2002Vozinha is the third goalkeeper in World Cup history to keep more than one clean sheet after turning 40, following Peter Shilton (three) and Dino Zoff (two) Topics Argentina National Football Team Cape Verde national football team Lionel Messi Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read World Cup 2026 live: Lionel Messi returns for Argentina vs Cape Verde as teams and full line ups are confirmed, TV channel, live online stream and stats Ben Miller 3rd July, 2026 Argentina v Cape Verde: World Cup 2026 line-ups, stats and preview, TV channel, live online stream and prediction Ben Miller 3rd July, 2026 Kylian Mbappe matches Lionel Messi in World Cup golden boot standings: Everyone is talking and I watch TV too Ben Miller 1st July, 2026 Croatia star calls World Cup idol Cristiano Ronaldo not the best footballer: Weve seen its Messi Ben Miller 30th June, 2026 Lionel Messi: World Cup 2026 playing schedule, fixtures, kick off times, where to watch, confirmed news updates and full Argentina squad Ben Miller 29th June, 2026 World Cup 2026: Last 32 ties confirmed as group stage ends Tom Rostance 28th June, 2026
