The exciting action of the FIFA World Cup continued.
Friday was the final day of the Round of 32. This World Cup has provided fans with a ton of drama, especially in the Round of 32. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks, as the action kept building throughout the day.
Let’s go over the exciting action of Day 21 of the 2026 World Cup, starting with the early drama in the Round of 32.
Egypt vs Australia: Egypt prevail on penalties
The first game of the day took place at Dallas Stadium. Mo Salah and Egypt faced Jordan Bos and Australia.
It looked like Australia was poised to take the lead within the first 10 minutes, but they couldn’t muster a shot on target. But it was Egypt that struck first.
13 minutes in, Egypt had a free kick just outside the Australian box. Emam Ashour’s free kick was blocked by the Australian backline, but it wasn’t fully cleared. Karim Hafez then crossed it in. Ashour made no mistake with the header. The Al Ahly winger put the Pharaohs up by one, and that was the 250th goal of this World Cup.
The Socceroos then looked to respond. Egypt were structurally sound, and the Australians had trouble getting past them. It took 35 minutes for Australia to get a shot on target. After Egypt failed to clear the free kick, Bos’s shot went straight to Mostafa Shobeir. It was clear the Aussies were still in the game.
It was also a physical affair, with hard tackles coming. That was especially true for the Socceroos, who are known for their physical style of soccer.
Egypt nearly doubled the lead seconds into the second half. Omar Marmoush received Salah’s perfect pass, but somehow, he missed the net.
It was a set piece that helped Australia draw level. On the free kick by New York City FC’s Aiden O’Neill, AL Ahly’s Mohamed Hany headed the ball into his own net. Good goal, but the wrong end for Hany.
Marmoush was regretting that miss even more by this point.
Egypt then took the reins of the game. But they struggled to break down Australia’s low block and couldn’t get Salah and Marmoush involved.
Australia were starting to brew something. As the half went on, they started to control the game and were looking for those pockets of space to create a chance to score. It felt like Egypt were hanging on for life.
Three minutes into stoppage time, Egypt thought they had won it. Salah played a great ball to Rami Rabia, but Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach made a ridiculous save with his left hand to keep the game tied.
So this game needed extra time. It solved nothing.
It was off to penalties. Before extra time ended, Australia manager Tony Popovic made a bold call. He took out Beach for veteran goalkeeper Matt Ryan.
It was not the start Australia wanted. Harry Souttar skied his penalty over the bar. Maybe the Dallas Cowboys need a new kicker?
Jackson Irvine and Awer Mabil scored their spot kicks for Australia. Lucas Harrington of the Colorado Rapids hit the crossbar. Gutting for the 18-year-old.
The decision to sub Beach off for Ryan did not go well. Ryan failed to make a single save in the penalty shootout. Mahmoud Saber, Rabia, Salah and Hossam Abdelmaguid each converted penalties.
For the first time in their history, Egypt won a knockout game at the World Cup.
Argentina vs Cabo Verde: Messi shines as Cabo Verde don’t quit
Cabo Verde was an incredible story of this World Cup as they made it out of the group stage. Standing in their way were Lionel Messi and Argentina, the defending World Cup champions. Miami Stadium was rocking, especially the Argentinian fans.
Argentina started the game as planned: Dominating possession. However, Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha was calm while between the sticks. He was cool and calm with the ball at his feet. Though it did look like he was playing with fire at times.
Cabo Verde had trouble breaking out of their own half. Once they lost the ball, Argentina won it back. Alexis MacAllister, Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez were doing a great job of winning the back.
It felt inevitable that Argentina would score. It was also inevitable that Messi would score. In the 28 minutes, Lisandro Martinez played a beautiful ball over the Cabo Verde defenders, and Messi timed his run perfectly and beat Vozinha. Exquisite.
Argentina were hypnotizing Cabo Verde with the way they moved the ball. Cabo Verde was glad they went into halftime down by only one goal. They managed to stay disciplined with their low block.
Cabo Verde wanted to make things interesting. At the start of the second half, they spent some time in Argentina’s half. Deroy Duarte managed to take Emiliano Martinez from long range. However, the Aston Villa goalkeeper handled it easily.
It was clear they wanted to get to Argentina with counter-press. Their defensive line was higher, and their midfielders and forwards were pushing Argentina back.
It turns out, it paid off. It was Duarte who got the Cabo Verde fans out of their seats. Ryan Mendes’ ball found Duarte in a pocket of space in the box, and the Ludogorets Razgrad midfielder beat Martinez. We had a game.
Argentina realized they had to wake up. Soon after the goal, Messi was in alone on Vozinha. But the Cabo Verde goalkeeper denied the Inter Miami superstar his brace.
The Argentinians were getting back to the first half fundamentals: Win the ball back and keep it as much as possible.
Cabo Verde’s defence and Vozinha were doing a good job of keeping the game tied. Vozinha even made an incredible save off a Messi free kick.
Argentina continued to push for the win. Cabo Verde was putting up a good fight. Their low block was making it hard for Argentina to find space in the box. Shots from a distance were easily handled by Vozinha.
For the second time on Friday, a game had to go to extra time. It was a battle between a 40-year-old goalkeeper and a 39-year-old winger. As the kids say nowadays: “Unc’s still got it.”
Just over a minute into extra time, the corner was delivered by Messi, flicked on by MacAllister, and Lisandro Martinez blasted the ball past Vozinha. The reigning World Champions were ahead.
Just like they have in all tournaments, Cabo Verde wouldn’t quit. Once again, they managed to defend well against Argentina and tried to make use of the possession that they got.
Their counterattacks made Argentina cautious. Just before the first extra time period ended, Cabo Verde left-back Sidny Lopes Cabral hit a lightning bolt past Emi Martinez to tie the game. This might be the goal of the tournament. The country of 10 little islands off the coast of West Africa continued their incredible World Cup story.
Cabo Verde continued to be solid defensively. But Argentina delivered from a Messi corner kick again. His ball found the head of Cristian Romero, and the World Champions were in front again. The goal was eventually credited as an own goal from Cabo Verde centre-back Diney Borges.
Cabo Verde threw everything forward. But Martinez was there to make big saves.
Unfortunately, Cabo Verde’s World Cup story ended there. Despite the loss, they had a lot to be proud of. No one expected them to get out of the group stage. Then they took Messi and Argentina to extra time.
The Cabo Verde players will definitely get a massive welcome once they return home. The players and staff deserve to be proud. No one will ever forget the great story of Cabo Verde at the 2026 World Cup.
As for Argentina, they will face Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday.
Colombia vs Ghana: Colombian crusade
The final game of the Round of 32 took place at Kansas City Stadium between Colombia and Ghana.
From the first minute, Colombia were in control. They dominated possession and looked very lively and quick. Luis Diaz and Luis Suarez (who came on after just eight minutes due to Jhon Cordoba suffering an apparent hamstring injury) were giving the Ghanaian defenders fits.
Colombia won the ball back as much as they could. Ghana were overwhelmed, and their only real chance was an early Thomas Partey shot that went wide. The Ghanaians were also having trouble with the final third when it came to the counterattack.
Colombia’s goal came from Jhon Arias. The Palmeiras midfielder took Suarez’s cross and put it into the net. Suarez did an excellent job getting around the Colombian defenders, and for whatever reason, Arias was given a ton of room and space.
It did feel like Colombia could’ve won this game in a blowout. Ghanaian goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi was a busy man as he stopped seven Colombian shots. Colombia had a total of 20 shots in this game. Ghana had eight shots but did not test Camilo Vargas.
Diaz was on fire. When he had the ball, the Colombian fans in attendance rose to their feet. The Ghanaian defenders genuinely looked intimidated by Diaz and his dribbling.
The Bayern Munich winger thought he doubled the lead in the 55th minute, but he was a tad offside.
Juan Quintero nearly scored a screamer to seal the game for Colombia.
But in the end, it didn’t matter because Colombia were in the Round of 16. They will face Switzerland at BC Place Vancouver on July 7.
Stat of the match
Messi’s goal was his seventh goal of the World Cup and his 20th World Cup goal of his career.
Masterclass of the day
Despite the loss, Vozinha stood on his head with eight saves.
Disasterclass of the day
Jordan Ayew had zero shots at this World Cup. He’s a striker/winger, by the way.
Meme of the day
No matter which country you root for at this World Cup, you can’t help but be proud of Cabo Verde.
Wrap-up
The Round of 16 begins on Saturday. At 10 AM Pacific, Stephen Eustaquio and Canada face Achraf Hakimi and Morocco at Houston Stadium. Then, at Philadelphia Stadium at 2 pm Pacific, Kylian Mbappe and France take on Andres Cubas and Paraguay.
It should be another epic day of soccer.
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