Argentina advance after Cape Verde World Cup scare, Egypt through

Holders Argentina survived a monumental scare before defeating Cape Verde 3-2 in an all-time World Cup classic on Friday as Egypt beat Australia to reach the last 16.

Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, rocked Lionel Messi’s Argentina with two stunning equalizers to raise the prospect of pulling off the greatest upset in World Cup history at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

But a Diney Borges own goal, under pressure from Argentina’s Cristian Romero, in the 111th minute finally broke Cape Verde’s resistance.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said losing to Cape Verde “would have been madness.”

It was “a very tough match; you always have to take the positives — this team (Argentina) never gives up,” Scaloni said.

“We have to congratulate the opponent; when people say there are no easy opponents, they proved today that they are a great team,” he added.