Cabral's stunning curler levels it again as Cape Verde push Argentina to the brink at World Cup 2026

Sidny Cabral produced one of the goals of the 2026 World Cup to level at 2-2 in extra time for Cape Verde against Argentina at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, as the tiny island nation came agonisingly close to eliminating the defending champions in their round of 32 clash.

Trailing 2-1 after Lisandro Martinez had restored Argentina’s lead two minutes into extra time, Cabral cut past Alexis Mac Allister inside the box and bent a spectacular curler into the top-right corner, the ball arcing around the body of Nahuel Molina. The 23-year-old then leapt into the stands to celebrate with Cape Verde supporters in wild scenes inside the stadium.

“Sidny Lopes Cabral, what a goal,” said Ally McCoist on commentary. “Oh wow, he opens his body up and smashes it into the top corner. Honestly. That was different class.”

The moment was the latest chapter in a remarkable debut World Cup campaign for Cape Verde, who navigated the group stage unbeaten — a run that included a draw against Spain — to reach the knockout rounds as genuine overachievers.

Few expected their fairytale to survive contact with Lionel Messi and the 2022 champions, and those fears appeared well-founded when Messi opened the scoring before the half-hour mark. But Cape Verde refused to fold. On 59 minutes, Deroy Duarte equalised to stun Argentina and send the match into extra time.

Goalkeeper Vozinha, whose extraordinary performances have driven his Instagram following to 17 million during the tournament, was central to keeping Cape Verde alive, denying Messi on multiple occasions to preserve parity through 90 minutes.

Cabral’s equaliser in extra time appeared to set up a penalty shootout, only for the dream to unravel in cruel fashion. A Cape Verde own goal — Diney Borges turning the ball into his own net — handed Argentina what appeared to be the decisive advantage, leaving Cabral’s moment of brilliance as the defining image of a tournament run that captured the imagination of the football world.