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Lionel Messi acknowledged that Argentina would need to "fix the bad" elements—of which there were "many"—evident in a thoroughly disappointing 3–2 win over Cabo Verde on Friday evening, providing a candid and perceptive assessment of his side's difficulties when pressing.
The reigning World Cup holders took an early lead against the third-smallest nation ever to qualify for the tournament, courtesy of Messi's seventh goal of the competition. But from that point, they simply stopped performing.
Cabo Verde proved impressive once more, fighting back to draw level through Deroy Duarte just before the hour mark. Even Lisandro Martínez's extra-time strike failed to discourage the heavy underdogs, who restored parity through a stunning Sidny Lopes Cabral wonder goal.
It wasn't until the 111th minute that Argentina finally secured the decisive goal, which ultimately arrived via a Diney Borges own goal.
"Beyond just advancing, I think there are positives because we did some things well, but we also need to address the negatives, which I think were quite numerous today," Messi lamented in the mixed zone.
Messi Blames Pressing Rather Than Complacency
"We knew this was going to be an extremely tough game; this team hadn't lost to Spain and Uruguay for a reason," Messi stressed. "We did the hardest part by scoring the opening goal. We thought that from there, we'd begin to find our rhythm and feel more comfortable, but it was the complete opposite."
If complacency wasn't the culprit, pressing certainly was.
"We couldn't press them effectively, and our defensive lines were too spread out," Argentina's skipper explained. "They always had a spare man because we couldn't match up with them. And that's why they kept possession and made us chase, because we simply couldn't press them properly."
Cabo Verde recorded an 86% pass accuracy, the highest the African side has achieved in any fixture throughout this World Cup. Bubista's team was able to complete so many passes because, as Messi highlighted, Argentina failed to force them into errors.
The buildup to Cabral's stunning strike serves as a perfect illustration: Cabo Verde strung together 12 passes among eight players in a 37-second sequence that started with goalkeeper Vozinha.
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Could This Be a Problem for Argentina Going Forward?
"We knew it was going to be tough; this is a knockout competition, and nothing is handed to you," Messi added. "We knew it wouldn't be straightforward at all, and that's exactly what this particular World Cup is about. It's very closely contested, very complicated, and every match is going to be incredibly challenging."
Argentina faces Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 7. While Mohamed Salah's side shouldn't realistically trouble the world champions, similar assumptions were made ahead of this encounter with Cabo Verde.
Lionel Scaloni is unlikely to suddenly transform Argentina into a high-pressing outfit. Messi covered the least distance of any regular starter in this year's World Cup group stage for a reason: he is not expected to press off the ball. Pressing with just 10 players is arguably more damaging than not pressing at all, given the spaces that can open up when chasing haphazardly—as Argentina clearly demonstrated against Cabo Verde.
Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti noted earlier this summer that "Argentina does not play high-intensity soccer," with their strength lying in their ability to "manage the game very well." That was far from evident against Cabo Verde—nor for much of the 2022 World Cup, where the eventual champions surrendered the lead in four of their seven matches on the way to lifting the trophy.
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Yet, despite all the concerns this performance raised, it highlighted one lasting quality in Argentina: sheer determination.
"I will speak to the players about the negatives," Scaloni concluded, "but we take away the positive, which is that we never dropped our heads."