Cape Verde, ranked 64th in the FIFA rankings and playing in their first World Cup knockout match, twice came from behind to level the scores and pushed the world's second-ranked side to the brink of a penalty shootout before the unfortunate late own goal ended their remarkable run.

Lionel Messi gave Argentina the lead in the 29th minute, controlling a long pass from Lisandro Martinez before finishing emphatically for his 20th World Cup goal.

Cape Verde responded in the second half through Deroy Duarte, who burst into the box and fired home from a tight angle to make it 1-1 and force extra time.

Argentina regained the lead just two minutes into the additional period when Lisandro Martinez converted Alexis Mac Allister's flick from a corner.

The underdogs refused to surrender, however, with Sidny Lopes Cabral producing a stunning curling strike into the top corner in the 103rd minute to level the match at 2-2.

Cabral nearly completed a famous upset late in extra time, but Emiliano Martinez produced a crucial save to keep Argentina alive.

With penalties looming, Argentina finally found the breakthrough in the 111th minute when Borges inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, sending the holders through to the last 16 after one of the tournament's most dramatic encounters.

Despite the defeat, Cape Verde earned widespread praise after pushing one of the tournament favourites to the limit in a memorable World Cup debut.

Cape Verde coach Bubista was sad to his team's World Cup journey come to an end, but immensely proud of what they'd achieved.

"First things, the pride I feel in my players and what they did. They did it with dignity and courage... We did our best and we did it with bravery. Never did we lose our identity," he said.

"The feeling in the dressing room is sadness. We are sad because we are leaving the competition and also because we got so close... but I think they must be proud of their performance and of representing our country. It shows the team has a soul.

"I don't think any other team could have scored two goals against Argentina and taken the match into extra time. I think that shows the character of our team, how skilled our team is."

"We have to be aware that we did work that will stay in the history books and we made history for our country."

Speaking after the match, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni highlighted his team's character in coming through a very difficult challenge.

"This is Argentina and nothing is easy in this country... You must have character as you have 47 million people rooting for you and you need courage to bounce back from that. This team has it. We suffered a very difficult game, we are still here but it won't be easy, this is a very difficult World Cup," Scaloni said.

“Today we proved that we have character. Everyone thought this match was going to be a walk in the park. We were sure it wasn't going to be like that.”