Did Lionel Messi Score Vs Egypt: Argentina made a comeback for the history books to defeat Egypt in a round of 16 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the back of yet another memorable performance by Lionel Messi.
The Argentina vs Egypt game was the second-to-last game of the round of 16 stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match was played in Atlanta, Georgia, and saw two of the best attacking wingers of the generation go up against each other, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah.
Right from the get-go, Egypt had adopted a strategy that has been a part of several upsets at top-level football, that is, to counter-attack. The team would sit back and defend. And as soon as they got the ball, the Egyptians would race up the flanks.
Messi Powers Argentina Into The Quarter Finals
After creating a couple of chances, this strategy would end up breaking the deadlock in just the 15th minute of the match. From about 30 meters out, midfielder Marwan Attia crossed the ball into the box, which found the head of defender Yasser Ibrahim, who powered the ball into the goal, 1-0 Egypt.
Not long after, in the 19th minute, Messi made a significant pass into the penalty box. Left-back Nicolás Tagliafico found the ball and got into a fine position to score. Instead, he was brought down into the box, and a penalty was awarded.
For the second time in this competition, Messi stepped up to take a penalty. For a second time, he would not take the best shot, and for the second time in this World Cup, his penalty was saved by the keeper as the Egyptians kept their lead.
The remainder of the first half followed the script. Argentina would dominate possession and attacking chances; the entire Egyptian team would sit back to defend, and then they would try to counterattack from the flanks.
Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir’s performance should be appreciated. In the first half, he made some solid saves and played a big role in maintaining his team’s unexpected lead.
And just like that, the Albiceleste went into halftime on the back foot, just 45 minutes away from their dream of back-to-back World Cup wins being shattered too early.
The second half started the same way, with Argentina creating chances and Egypt sitting back. Up until this point, Lionel Messi was playing the same central position he had been playing throughout this tournament. He was the designated striker along with Julián Álvarez and would fall back on occasion to power the attack.
In the 58th minute, a fantastic piece of play ensued. Egyptian left-back Mohamed Hany snatched the ball from near the wider goal line from his end. Winger Haissem Hassan would then drive the ball forward, going past two players and passing the ball to Mohamed Salah.
The Liverpool legend would make a sublime pass into the box to striker Mostafa Ziko, who slotted the ball into the net, seemingly making the score 2-0. However, a VAR check determined that Mohamed Hany had fouled the Argentine player to start the attack, and hence, the goal was disallowed.
No worries for the Pharaohs, as in the 67th minute, Haissem Hassan passed the ball into the opposition’s six-yard box. Striker Ziko rushed defender Lisandro Martínez and put the ball into the net for the second time in this match. And this time, the goal stood, 2-0 Egypt.
One would assume that with less than 30 minutes remaining in the match, the defending world champions were down and out. Not so much. While Argentina made a few personnel changes, including bringing in Lautaro Martínez, the biggest change made was shifting Messi to the wing, allowing him to whip balls into the box.
The positional change made an impact in the 79th minute. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, from the right flank, crossed the ball into the box. The perfect cross found the head of defender Cristian Romero, who made the score 2-1.
Did Lionel Messi Score Vs Egypt
Before this game, Lionel Messi had the record of scoring in the most consecutive World Cup appearances. From back in 2022, he had scored in eight World Cup matches back to back. With his penalty miss earlier against Egypt, that record run might have come to an end. But the 39-year-old would not let that happen.
In the 83rd minute, Messi crossed the ball into the box yet again, which found its way to Lautaro Martínez. In a poor position to take a shot, the striker instead passed it to Gonzalo Montiel. Montiel, with his back to the net, found Messi running into the box right in front of him and decided to pass. The Argentina No. 10 volleyed the ball towards the goal. The ball deflected from the goalie’s hands onto the crossbar, and it bounced down past the goal line. And just like that, the game was back on.
By the time the regulation 90 minutes had elapsed, and the fourth referee displayed seven minutes of stoppage time on the board, the Egyptian players were spent. Argentina, on the other hand, had surrendered to the idea of 30 minutes of extra time.
However, in the second minute of injury time, Lautaro found himself with meters of space on the right flank and Enzo Fernández in the box with just one defender. Martinez whipped the ball into the box as Enzo freed himself from his marker, found the ball, and headed it into the goal, 2-3 Argentina, and the game was all but done.
Having lost their two-goal lead and conceded three goals in a span of about 35 minutes, Egypt turned scrappy in the dying minutes of this match, desperately looking for another goal, a goal that would never come, as the game would end with a scoreline of 3-2 in favour of the defending champions.
Argentina has qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They will face the winner of the Switzerland vs Colombia match on Sunday, July 12, at 06:30 am (IST) in Kansas City.
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