Read Desk Lucknow: All the matches of the Round of 32 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 have ended on the morning of July 4. Now the eyes of football lovers are fixed on the pre-quarterfinal matches. Defending champion Argentina defeated Cape Verde 3-2 in the round of 32 and secured its place in the last-16.
In this match, Argentina captain and star player Lionel Messi played an important role in the team’s victory by scoring a goal. With this goal, Messi remains in first place in the race for the Golden Boot in the FIFA World Cup 2026. He also made the record of becoming the first player in World Cup history to score at least one goal in eight consecutive matches.
On the basis of his excellent performance, Lionel Messi has scored 7 goals in the tournament so far and remains at the top position in the race for the Golden Boot. It is noteworthy that Messi has not been able to win the World Cup Golden Boot so far in his career, so this time he has a golden opportunity to achieve this feat.
The goal scored against Cape Verde was also Messi’s 20th goal in World Cup history. With this he remains at the first position in this list.
In the race for the Golden Boot, Messi is facing the toughest challenge from France’s Kylian Mbappe, who has scored 6 goals so far. Erling Haaland of Norway and Harry Kane of England are jointly in third place. Both players have 5-5 goals in their names so far in this World Cup.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 7 goals
Kylian Mbappé (France) – 6 goals
Erling Haaland (Norway) – 5 goals
Harry Kane (England) – 5 goals
After registering victory in the Round of 32, Argentina will now face Egypt in the pre-quarterfinals. Egypt entered the last-16 after winning 4-2 in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against Australia in their previous match. This match between Argentina and Egypt will be played on July 7 at 9:30 pm Indian time.
