Lionel Messi's remarkable scoring streak continued, but keeping Argentina's World Cup title defense alive proved far tougher than finding the net.
The Argentina captain struck in the 29th minute for his 20th career World Cup goal, extending his all-time record and moving two clear of France's Kylian Mbappe.
His opener set the stage for a dramatic contest as the defending champions survived a major scare to edge underdogs Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time.
Messi later appeared at his postgame news conference with a noticeable swelling above his right eye after apparently taking a knee to the head during a collision with a Cape Verde player.
"It hurts a little but I'm good," Messi said, according to translated comments from Spanish. A FIFA post on X showed the prominent welt.
