The match proved far tougher than Lionel Messi and his team-mates had anticipated. Messi opened the scoring for the world champions, netting his seventh goal of the current tournament to move clear at the top of the scoring charts while extending his all-time World Cup record to 20 goals. Cape Verde responded through Deroy Duarte, who equalised in the 59th minute.

Lisandro Martínez restored Argentina's lead in the 92nd minute at the start of the first period of extra time, but the African side levelled again through Sidney Cabral in the 103rd minute. However, from a precise Messi corner, Argentina snatched victory when the ball rebounded off Dini Borges' arm following a header from defender Cristian Romero in the 111th minute.