ATLANTA — Lionel Messi is once again the star for Argentina.
With Egypt leading 2-0 with just over 10 minutes to go, the Albiceleste captain assisted on Argentina’s first goal, scored their second in the 84th minute to tie the game, and then played his part in the play that led to Enzo Fernández’s game winner in the second minute of stoppage time to send his country into the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup.
His equalizer sent the Argentina-heavy crowd into a frenzy inside the pressure cooker of Atlanta Stadium. The bowing began in the stands before transforming into the famous “Messi, Messi” chant we’ve heard so many times already throughout the tournament.
It was almost a different story for Messi and Argentina. After Egypt took the lead when Yasser Ibrahim headed home Marawan Attia’s cross after 15 minutes, Messi missed a penalty six minutes later that would have tied it, his second miss of the World Cup. From the spot, his left-footed attempt was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir to make Messi’s record four out of eight World Cup penalties missed.
Silence took over before fans broke into Messi’s song: “Vení, vení, cantá conmigo, que un amigo vas a encontrar, que de la mano, de Leo Messi, todos la vuelta vamos a dar.” (“Come, come, sing with me, a friend you’ll find, with Messi’s hand we will turn this around.”)
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Egypt initially capitalized, defending resolutely through the remainder of the first half before adding a second goal when Mostafa Zico swept home Haissem Hassan’s low cross. But with Messi’s magic, anything seems possible for this team.
Manager Lionel Scaloni warned that no win is ever the same; they take grit and passion, two things his players embodied against Egypt.
“When things aren’t going your way, there isn’t just one way to win. It takes grit, intensity, guts and the spirit we carry with us. The team has all of that. These guys always bring that extra measure of spirit, drive and refusal to lose,” Scaloni said. — Becherano
Messi to the rescue yet again
Never, ever write off Messi, even when the game looks over and everything seems to be coming to an end.
With less than 15 minutes to play in this epic game, Argentina were down 2-0, their reign as world champions set to end and Messi on the way to the finish of his glorious international career. But in the space of five magic minutes, Messi delivered a pinpoint cross for Cristian Romero to score for Argentina before then leveling the score with a fierce shot that rattled in off the crossbar.
Messi hauled Argentina back from the dead yet again. At 39, he is a phenomenon, and every performance seems to elevate his status even higher. Yes, he missed a first-half penalty in this game and struggled to have an impact for an hour — Messi had just 16 progressive passes and seven progressive carries in 90 minutes — but when his country needs him most, he always delivers.
Messi now has eight goals in this World Cup, so he once again leads the race for the Golden Boot. And who can say he won’t end it with the World Cup in his hands again?
When the final whistle blew in Atlanta, Messi was in tears. Tears of relief more than joy, perhaps, but his World Cup ride goes on. — Ogden
Egypt and Salah so good — and so unlucky
Mohamed Salah and Egypt will forever look back on this game as a story of what might have been. Hossam Hassan’s team was outstanding and fully deserved the lead throughout most of the game after two stunning goals from Ibrahim and Zico.
But it probably should have been more, with Zico having an earlier goal harshly ruled out for a foul at the start of the buildup, some 20 seconds before the ball found the back of the net.
Former Liverpool forward Salah was at the heart of everything for his team and, until the final 10 minutes, he was as influential for Egypt as Messi was for Argentina. Salah played a brilliant pass to Zico for the goal that was ruled out, but he was also central to the second goal that put Egypt 2-0 ahead.
They really should have held on to make it the quarterfinals and against any other team, they probably would have. But this is Argentina, with Messi doing incredible things, and even Salah couldn’t prevent what seemed inevitable after Romero reduced the deficit to 2-1. — Ogden
The VAR mission creep continues, this time to Egypt’s detriment
The involvement of VAR in this game will rumble on for days — and years from Egypt’s perspective — because it had far too much involvement in the result.
When Zico put Egypt 2-0 ahead in the 58th minute, the Pyramids FC forward looked to have scored one of the best, and most significant, goals of the tournament. But referee Francois Letexier was called by VAR to review a challenge on Lisandro Martínez at the start of the move way back in the Egypt half.
Marawan Attia was judged to have fouled the Manchester United defender, but contact was minimal and nowhere near enough to warrant such an intervention. Egypt were furious, and they would get even angrier when the VAR team failed to intervene in stoppage time after Enzo Fernandez scored Argentina’s winner.
Replays showed Alexis Mac Allister fouled an Egypt attacker with a strong shirt pull in the penalty area as Egypt were trying to score. Several Egypt players were booked, as was Hassan, in the aftermath. It was much more impactful than Ateya’s challenge on Lisandro when it came to the goal, but the incident wasn’t reviewed, prompting more Egyptian fury.
You can be certain that Egypt will demand answers for both decisions. — Ogden
Shoubir’s valiant effort ultimately in vain
Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir proved to be one of the biggest figures for his side against Argentina.
For nearly 80 minutes, Shoubir held La Albiceleste at bay, blocking Messi’s penalty attempt and then making two more from point-blank range. He denied Messi on more than one occasion to ensure Egypt’s best chance at qualifying to the next round, but it wasn’t enough.
This World Cup has seen some astonishing goalkeeping performances, with Curacao’s Eloy Room tying the single-game record with 15 vs. Ecuador, and two more — Cape Verde’s Vozinha and Shoubir — have saved their best for Argentina. Without Shoubir, this game could have gone very differently. — Becherano
