Ian Wright has cast doubt on Argentina's ability to retain the World Cup after the defending champions were taken to extra time by minnows Cape Verde in a stunning last-32 match. The tiny island nation, ranked 50th in the world, pushed the tournament favourites all the way, exposing what Wright described as major weaknesses in the Argentine side.
Argentina scrape past Cape Verde in thriller
Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the first half with his seventh goal of the competition, but Cape Verde equalised through Deroy Durate on the hour mark. Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez restored Argentina's lead in extra time, only for Sidny Cabral to curl in a contender for goal of the tournament. Cristian Romero's header, deflected off Diney Borges, finally secured a 3-2 victory for Argentina in the second period of extra time.
Cape Verde had already drawn with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in the group stage, and their fearless performance against Argentina has been hailed as one of the greatest underdog stories in World Cup history.
Wright: Argentina 'there to be beaten'
Speaking on ITV1, Wright said: 'What Cape Verde has shown is that they [Argentina] are fallible. We know they are great, that they can dig in and that they are warriors. They have the best player in the world but what I would be looking at is they are there to be taken. They are there to be beaten. If you can give the same kind of endeavour we saw Cape Verde give, but you have more quality in the final third, then Argentina are there to be beaten.'
Wright, who had previously identified Argentina as the only team capable of beating France, highlighted vulnerabilities in wide areas. 'I think in the wide areas they are very weak. You can get at them in those areas,' he added.
Romero fortunate to avoid red card
Wright also suggested that Romero was lucky to stay on the pitch. 'I think Romero was very fortunate, he should have been booked in the first half without a doubt. He got booked in the latter stages so he was lucky to be on the pitch and he ended up scoring one of the goals.'
