Argentina Fight Back to Beat Egypt 3-2 as Messi Inspires Dramatic World Cup Escape

Posted : 08 July 2026

Argentina produced another remarkable comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash at Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday, keeping their title defence alive with a dramatic stoppage-time victory.

Egypt stunned the defending champions by taking a two-goal lead through Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. Ibrahim opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a powerful header from Marwan Attia's cross before Zico doubled the advantage in the 67th minute after a swift counterattack involving Mohamed Salah and Haissem Hassan.

Argentina had opportunities to level before the break but failed to convert them. Lionel Messi missed a first-half penalty after Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced an excellent save. Shobeir also denied Julián Álvarez and Alexis Mac Allister, while Messi struck the post with a long-range free-kick as Egypt carried their lead into half-time.

The South Americans finally responded late in the contest. Cristian Romero reduced the deficit in the 79th minute by heading home Messi's accurate delivery from the right. Four minutes later, Messi redeemed his earlier penalty miss with a powerful strike that crashed in off the crossbar to make it 2-2.

With extra time approaching, Argentina completed the turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time. Lautaro Martínez collected a pass from Álvarez before delivering a precise cross for Enzo Fernández, whose header secured a dramatic 3-2 victory and a place in the quarter-finals.

The result marked one of the greatest recoveries in World Cup history. Argentina became the first team to overturn a two-goal deficit after trailing beyond the 78th minute in a World Cup match without requiring extra time. According to Opta's win probability model, Argentina had only a 0.6 percent chance of winning when Romero scored their first goal.

Messi also added more milestones to his remarkable career. Despite becoming the first player to miss two penalties during a single World Cup edition, excluding shootouts, he scored his eighth goal of the tournament and extended his scoring streak to nine consecutive World Cup matches. He also became the first player to score in six successive World Cup knockout matches while increasing his all-time World Cup tally to 21 goals.

Egypt earned praise for a courageous display, with Shobeir delivering one of the tournament's standout goalkeeping performances. However, the Pharaohs were unable to withstand Argentina's late pressure as the reigning champions advanced to a quarter-final meeting against either Switzerland or Colombia.

Argentina Fight Back to Beat Egypt 3-2 as Messi Inspires Dramatic World Cup Escape

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics