Adedokun Waliyu 
Argentina produced a dramatic second-half comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 and book a place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, keeping Lionel Messi’s World Cup dream alive.
The defending champions looked on the verge of a shocking elimination after Egypt raced into a two-goal lead through Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko. Their advantage came either side of Lionel Messi missing a penalty, with Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir producing an outstanding save to deny the Argentine captain.
Cristian Romero ignited Argentina’s comeback with a powerful header, reducing the deficit before the final stages of the match. Messi then redeemed himself by scoring the equaliser, extending his remarkable run of scoring in nine consecutive World Cup matches and reclaiming the lead in the tournament’s Golden Boot race with eight goals.
Enzo Fernández completed the stunning turnaround in stoppage time, heading home the winning goal to seal a 3-2 victory. At the final whistle, an emotional Messi was seen in tears as he celebrated with his teammates after another dramatic World Cup escape.
Egypt were left frustrated by a series of controversial decisions. A goal scored by Mostafa Ziko early in the second half was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul in the build-up, a decision that sparked strong protests from the Egyptian players and coaching staff. Tensions escalated further after the winning goal, with a member of Egypt’s coaching staff shown a red card.
Argentina had struggled from the opening stages despite making several changes to the team that narrowly defeated Cape Verde in the previous round. Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring with a powerful header from Marwan Attia’s cross before Messi failed to convert from the penalty spot, becoming the first player to miss two penalties in a single World Cup tournament after also failing from the spot earlier in the competition.
Shobeir continued his outstanding performance by denying Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez with two brilliant saves. Egypt thought they had doubled their lead on the hour mark through Mostafa Ziko after a swift counterattack, but VAR intervened to disallow the goal for an earlier foul.
The Pharaohs eventually did make it 2-0 when Mohamed Salah led another fast break before Hassan’s cross found Ziko, who calmly finished to put Egypt within touching distance of a historic victory.
However, Argentina responded with determination. Romero’s header gave the holders renewed hope before Messi struck a powerful half-volley that bounced in off the crossbar despite another touch from Shobeir. Deep into stoppage time, Enzo Fernández rose highest to head home Lautaro Martínez’s cross and complete one of the tournament’s most memorable comebacks.
Argentina will now face either Colombia or Switzerland in the quarter-finals as they continue their defence of the World Cup title.
