Lionel Messi inspired one of the greatest comebacks in FIFA World Cup history as defending champions Argentina recovered from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 at Atlanta Stadium and secure a dramatic place in the quarter finals.
Messi produced when his country needed him most, setting up Cristian Romero’s goal before scoring the equaliser himself as Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit with three goals in the final 11 minutes. Enzo Fernandez completed the remarkable turnaround deep into stoppage time to keep Argentina’s title defence alive.
The match marked the first ever World Cup meeting between Argentina and Egypt. Their previous encounter came in a 2008 friendly, which Argentina won 2-0 thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso.
Argentina almost made the perfect start after 10 minutes when Enzo Fernandez somehow failed to hit the target from inside the six yard box. However, the Chelsea midfielder was spared his blushes as Rodrigo De Paul’s earlier run had been flagged offside.
Egypt stunned the reigning champions five minutes later. The Pharaohs worked a clever short corner before Attia delivered a teasing cross into the penalty area. Ibrahim rose above Lisandro Martinez and powered a brilliant header into the far corner to give Egypt a deserved 1-0 lead.
Argentina had the perfect opportunity to respond in the 19th minute when Tagliafico was brought down inside the area by Hassan, leaving the referee with no hesitation in awarding a penalty.
Messi stepped up looking to equalise, but Egypt goalkeeper Shobeir guessed correctly and produced a superb save to deny the World Cup’s all time leading scorer from the spot.
Argentina continued to press. Alexis Mac Allister headed straight at Shobeir after meeting De Paul’s excellent cross in the 28th minute before Messi came within inches of equalising three minutes later. The captain curled a powerful free kick from nearly 30 yards that crashed against the left post.
Shobeir continued his outstanding first half in the 39th minute. Julian Alvarez looked certain to score from Tagliafico’s cut back, but the Egyptian goalkeeper dived sharply to his left and pushed the effort around the post.
Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage 13 minutes after the restart. Hassan produced a brilliant run down the right before Mohamed Salah released Zico, who calmly finished past Emiliano Martinez. However, VAR ruled out the goal after spotting a foul by Attia on Lisandro Martinez during the build up.
The reprieve failed to wake Argentina. In the 67th minute Egypt struck again, and this time there was no escape for the holders. Salah led another lightning counter attack before finding Hassan, whose low cut back picked out Zico. The forward made no mistake with his finish to put Egypt 2-0 ahead and leave the defending champions on the brink of elimination.
History appeared to be against Argentina. They had lost all 13 previous World Cup matches in which they had fallen behind by two or more goals.
However, Messi refused to let his World Cup journey end.
Argentina pulled a goal back in the 79th minute through Cristian Romero. Messi delivered a perfectly weighted cross into the penalty area, and the defender powered his header on target. Shobeir got a hand to the effort but could not prevent it crossing the line.
Just four minutes later Messi produced another moment of brilliance. Egypt failed to clear a cross into the box before Gonzalo Montiel laid the ball into the captain’s path. Messi struck first time and saw his effort bounce off Shobeir, hit the crossbar and cross the line to make it 2-2.
The goal also saw Messi make history once again. He became the first player ever to score in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches.
Argentina completed the comeback in the second minute of stoppage time. Julian Alvarez launched a long pass towards Lautaro Martinez on the right flank. The Inter striker waited patiently before delivering a pinpoint cross into the box, where Fernandez rose to head into the far corner and send Argentina into wild celebrations.
The final whistle confirmed one of the greatest World Cup fightbacks in recent memory. Argentina had looked beaten at 2-0 down, yet three late goals secured an unforgettable 3-2 victory and a place in the quarter finals.
Emotions poured out across Atlanta Stadium after the match. Argentina’s players celebrated through tears of joy, while Egypt’s squad were left heartbroken after seeing a famous victory slip away.
Messi was among those overcome with emotion. His World Cup career had been just minutes from ending, but once again the Argentina captain answered his country’s call. After missing an early penalty, he responded by creating the goal that sparked the comeback before scoring the equaliser that changed everything.
