ATLANTA, Georgia — Lionel Messi was in tears at the final whistle Tuesday after Argentina produced one of the most extraordinary comebacks in World Cup history, scoring three times in the final eleven minutes to beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the quarterfinals, keeping alive the defending champions’ dream of becoming the first back-to-back World Cup winners since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Trailing 2-0 with just 14 minutes of normal time remaining at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Argentina refused to accept elimination. Cristian Romero halved the deficit in the 79th minute, Messi leveled with a ferocious strike four minutes later, and Enzo Fernandez headed the winner in the second minute of stoppage time to complete a comeback that left Egypt heartbroken and the football world stunned.
It is the first time in World Cup history that a team has won a knockout match in regulation time after trailing by two goals as late as the 75th minute, ESPN confirmed.
What We Know So Far
Egypt made the perfect start, taking a shock lead in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim powered a header from a corner into the far corner past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, Reuters confirmed.
Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir then produced the save of the tournament’s early rounds, stopping a Messi penalty to maintain the lead and hand the Argentine captain an unwanted record as the first player in World Cup history to miss two penalties in a single edition, having also failed from the spot against Austria in the group stage.
Argentina continued to press without reward. Messi hit the post from a free kick when the score stood at 1-0. Alexis Mac Allister had a close-range header saved by Shobeir. Julian Alvarez was denied by a spectacular Shobeir reaction stop. The Argentine pressure was relentless but the Egyptian goalkeeper was equal to everything.
Egypt doubled their lead in the 67th minute. Mohamed Salah’s precise pass released Mostafa Zico on the counter, and his close-range finish gave Egypt a 2-0 advantage that appeared insurmountable with less than a quarter of the match remaining, the Associated Press confirmed. A nearly identical goal from Egypt had earlier been ruled out following a video review, making the eventual second goal feel almost inevitable.
What followed was extraordinary. Romero connected with a Messi delivery to pull one back in the 79th minute with a free header. Four minutes later, Messi received the ball at the edge of the area and struck a shot too powerful for Shobeir to keep out, leveling at 2-2. With extra time seemingly inevitable, Lautaro Martinez broke into space and crossed for Fernandez, whose stoppage-time header completed the most improbable of victories.
Messi’s goal was his eighth of the tournament, his 21st in World Cup history, and came in his ninth consecutive World Cup match in which he has found the net, a record of sustained knockout stage brilliance dating back to Argentina’s 2022 title run, the Associated Press confirmed. He now leads the Golden Boot standings by one goal over Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Argentina will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday.
What The Coaches And Players Are Saying
The emotional release at the final whistle told its own story. Messi, who had looked as though his World Cup career might be ending when Egypt led 2-0, was seen with tears streaming down his face as teammates celebrated around him, the Sun reported.
The 39-year-old had carried the weight of what appeared to be impending elimination for the match’s most difficult hour, missing a penalty, hitting the post, and watching his team’s attacking play consistently repelled by an inspired Egyptian goalkeeper, before finding the moment that kept everything alive.
Egypt goalkeeper Shobeir had been exceptional throughout and could do little about any of Argentina’s three late goals. His penalty saves and multiple outstanding stops had given Egypt every reason to believe they were producing the tournament’s biggest upset before the final minutes stripped that belief away.
Egypt’s players will reflect on a performance that delivered two goals, a performance of genuine quality against the world champions, and still ended in defeat. For a nation making its first World Cup round of 16 appearance, the loss will sting in proportion to how close the victory felt.
Why This Matters
Tuesday’s result confirmed several things simultaneously about this Argentina team and about Messi specifically.
First, Argentina’s capacity to find something extraordinary when facing elimination is not coincidence. The defending champions have now survived two successive scares in this tournament, both times producing late goals to avoid the exit that seemed imminent. A team of lesser mental strength would have collapsed under the weight of a 2-0 deficit with Egypt’s goalkeeper in the form Shobeir was showing. This Argentina side found three goals anyway.
Second, Messi’s personal record in knockout football continues to defy conventional understanding of what an athlete approaching 40 can sustain at the highest level. His goal Tuesday was scored in the 83rd minute of a World Cup round of 16 match while his team trailed by a goal, in a ninth consecutive World Cup match in which he has scored, accumulating 13 goals across that nine-game span, ESPN confirmed.
The composure of the finish, struck hard and low from the edge of the area in a moment of near-maximum pressure, was the act of someone who performs better rather than worse when elimination is the alternative.
Third, the miss record is a genuine blemish on the tournament. Messi has now failed to score on four of his eight World Cup penalty attempts in regulation, a statistic that will follow the narrative of this run. But the extraordinary nature of his scoring record in open play, and the specific importance of Tuesday’s goal, will define the story more than the missed spot kicks.
For Egypt, the defeat ends a tournament that already exceeded every expectation. The Pharaohs reached the round of 16 for the first time in their history. They led the reigning world champions 2-0 in a knockout match. Their goalkeeper was outstanding. They were beaten by three goals in eleven minutes by a team that refuses to lose, which is a different kind of defeat from being outplayed.
The prospect of Argentina becoming the first back-to-back World Cup champions in 63 years remains alive. Whether they can sustain this level against Switzerland or Colombia, and potentially beyond, depends on whether they can avoid the defensive moments that allowed Egypt to build a 2-0 lead in the first place.
What Happens Next
Argentina will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday. The result of that match will determine which opponent Messi and his teammates must overcome to reach the semifinals.
The Golden Boot race now features three players on seven or eight goals, with Messi on eight, Mbappe on seven, and Haaland on seven, all still active in the competition. The quarterfinals will further define that contest.
For Argentina, the immediate focus will be recovery after the emotional and physical toll of Tuesday’s final minutes. For Messi, the tears at the final whistle reflected both the relief of survival and perhaps the dawning awareness that the career he has built across 20 years of World Cup participation may yet have one more extraordinary chapter left to write.
ESPN/AP/Reuters/TheSun/Flashscoreusa
