​Argentina superstar Lionel Messi left Friday’s thrilling match against Cape Verde with an unpleasant souvenir: a large bump on his forehead. The injury, which didn’t seem serious, resulted from a collision with an opponent’s knee after a tackle. Messi applied an ice pack to the area but remained on the field as the game extended into extra time after a 1-1 draw.
Messi added a seventh goal of the tournament to put Argentina ahead in the dramatic 3-2 victory over the underdog Cape Verde, boosting his World Cup tally to 20. An own goal by Diney Borges in the 111th minute sealed the win for the reigning champions, who will now meet Switzerland in the last 16 on Tuesday.
“We knew this was going to be a very difficult match. It wasn’t a coincidence that this team didn’t lose to Spain or Uruguay,” Messi said. “Scoring the first goal was the hardest part, and we thought it would help us control the game and play with more calm, but the opposite happened. We lost possession at times, dropped too deep, and couldn’t press them the way we wanted. They exploited their strengths and found the equalizer. We knew this would always be a complicated game.”
After speaking with journalists in the mixed zone, Messi paused to take pictures with several Cape Verde players who were waiting for him to finish his interviews.