Cape Verde have made history as the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage of a men’s World Cup and will face Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the next chapter of their Cinderella story.They were already one of the smallest nations ever to play at the competition but the collection of 10 islands off the west coast of Africa, which has a population of around 525,000 and was a Portuguese colony until 1975, has now made it to the round of 32. Cape Verde finished second in group H by drawing 0-0 with Saudi Arabia and will face Argentina in Miami on July 3.Laros Duarte and Garry Rodrigues had good chances to win the game for Cape Verde but a draw was enough to make it through.Here The Athletic’s Nick Miller and Dan Sheldon break down the key talking points.How great is Cape Verde’s achievement?It’s something that bears repeating, considering how extraordinary it is, so we say again: Cape Verde are through to the knockout rounds of the World Cup.It’s extraordinary enough that they qualified: this tiny country, this collection of small islands, not all of them inhabited. They’re the third smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup in terms of population size, and now comfortably the smallest to make it through to the knockout rounds.And they are not necessarily just beneficiaries of the expanded format: they won their qualification group, finishing ahead of relative World Cup stalwarts Cameroon, and finished second in this group. They didn’t need playoffs or to be one of the third-placed teams in their group here: you could argue that they benefitted from the African confederation having six automatic spots (plus three through the African playoffs and one other through the intercontinental playoffs), but they are here by merit.It’s Argentina next for them. It’s likely that will be it for them. But then, there’s nothing much likely about what this team have achieved so far.Has Messi’s path to the final opened up?Cape Verde’s remarkable effort to finish second in their group has been rewarded with a return to Miami and a game against Lionel Messi’s Argentina on July 3.