Argentina won every group game; Cape Verde drew all three and held Spain — now they meet

The most one-sided form line of the round

Argentina beat Algeria 3-0, Austria 2-0 and Jordan 3-1 — a perfect nine points and a defence that gave up almost nothing. On paper there is no gentler-looking last-32 tie for a favourite. Cape Verde, one of the smallest nations ever to reach this stage, did not win once and did not need to: 0-0 with Spain, 2-2 with Uruguay, 0-0 with Saudi Arabia. They advanced by refusing to lose, holding two of world football's bigger names to a single point.

Can a wall hold twice

The whole match hangs on that record. Cape Verde's plan is not a secret — deny space, keep eleven behind the ball, take the point-value of a stalemate as far as it will go. They already did it to Spain. Argentina are a level up in quality and, unlike Cape Verde's group opponents, arrive with three wins and rhythm rather than draws. The question is simple and it is the reason to watch: does the block that frustrated Spain hold against a side that has been scoring at will, or does one moment finally break it?