* The defending champions are the latest team who have ever been two or more goals down and gone on to win without needing extra time
* Belgium were the latest overall against Senegal last week but they needed extra time to complete the job
* Argentina will be next in action against either Switzerland or Colombia, who play their last-16 tie from 22h00 this evening
Maravi Express
Argentina looked to be heading out of the Argentina FIFA World Cup™ 2026 until an incredible late finale led by the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.) Lionel Messi.
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The defending champions are the latest team who have ever been two or more goals down and gone on to win without needing extra time.
Belgium was the latest overall against Senegal last week but they needed extra time to complete the job.
Argentina will be next in action against either Switzerland or Colombia, who play their last-16 tie from 22:00 this evening.
Messi had a first-half penalty saved and then scored a late equaliser as title holders Argentina came roaring back from the two-goal deficit at the Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday as they continue their bid for back-to-back World Cup titles.
Egypt had been on the brink of one of the great World Cup upsets after goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico but the Africans fell apart in the closing stages as Argentina’s captain inspired his side in a dramatic turnaround.
The 39-year-old, whose record World Cup goal haul is now up to 21, was again central to his country’s hopes and constantly probing for an opportunity but found his efforts stymied by determined defending until near the end of another thrilling match at the tournament.
Messi, who was in floods of tears at the end, provided the cross from which Romero headed home to start the comeback.
Four minutes later, Messi crashed home the equaliser after substitutes Lautaro Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel had both got touches to keep the ball away from Egyptian defenders.
The winner came from a counter-attack as Lautaro Martinez crossed from the right and Fernandez cushioned a back-post header past goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir, who had done much earlier to keep his team in the game.
Egypt felt they deserved a penalty before the breakaway and vociferously complained but to no avail.
The North Africans were surprisingly attacking in the early stages, bucking their recent tendency of sitting back and looking for counter-attack opportunities, and they opened the scoring after 15 minutes.
Egypt’s Mostafa Zico celebrates scoring their second goal
Emam Ashour attempted to tease his way past the Argentine defence on the right flank but, seeing no way through, passed back to Marwan Attia, who floated in a long cross that Ibrahim rose to easily head home.
The lead should have only lasted four minutes as Haissem Hassan caught overlapping Argentine fullback Nicolas Tagliafico with a late tackle to give away a penalty.
But it only served to mark the start of the goalkeeping heroics of Shoubir, whose dive to the left easily stopped a left-footed effort from Messi that was too close to the keeper.
Messi became the first player to miss two penalties at a World Cup after also failing from the spot against Austria in the group phase.
Goalkeeper Shoubir saved his spot kick before making a reflex stop to deny a point-blank header from Alexis Mac Allister in the 28th minute, and pulled off an even more extraordinary save six minutes from halftime to stop Julian Alvarez’s shot, stretching to turn the ball around the post.
In between, Messi crashed a free kick against the post.
Egypt had the ball in the net in the 62nd minute but Zico’s finish, after a sweeping move with Hassan’s trickery and Mohamed Salah’s pass, was chalked off after a VAR review found that Attia had fouled Lisandro Martinez in the build-up.
But five minutes later, they swept further into the lead in similar circumstances. Salah swept the ball forward on the counter, Hassan took it to the byline, and Zico came storming in to finish the cutback pass.
But once Egypt began to sit back, they invited Messi to perform his heroics and paid a heavy price.
Messi’s was his 8th of the tournament to move him clear in the Golden Boot standings. He didn’t score the winning goal, nor did he get the assist — and he also missed a penalty — but that late spell from Messi was special.
Sensing his team were on the cusp of an embarrassing exit, he went into the killer mode that he perfected in Qatar four years ago.
The outpouring of emotion in his goal celebration and at full time show just much this all still means for the 39-year-old.
The perils of knockout football were out in full force today. Two incredibly hard-fought wins over Cape Verde and now Egypt in the knockouts for Argentina.
It might not be the best game of the tournament, but that second half was the best half of the tournament so far — and that was the comeback of champions.—Reporting by New York Times & France24; editing by Maravi Express
Knockout stages results
Round of 32
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-1(4) Paraguay
* Netherlands 1(2)-1(3) Morocco
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
* England 1-2 DR Congo
* Belgium 3-2 Senegal
* USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Spain 3-0 Austria
* Portugal 2-1 Croatia
* Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
* Australia 1(2)-1(4) Egypt
* Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde
* Colombia 1-0 Ghana
Round of 16
* Canada 0-3 Morocco
* Paraguay 0-1 France
* Brazil 1-2 Norway
* Mexico 2-3 England
* Portugal 0-1 Spain
* USA 1-4 Belgium
* Argentina 3-2 Egypt
* Switzerland v Colombia (22h00)
Quarterfinals
July 9
* Morocco v France
* Belgium v Spain
July 10
* Norway v England
* Argentina v Switzerland/Colombia
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