Twelve minutes. That’s all Argentina had left while staring at a 2-0 scoreline against Egypt in the World Cup Round of 16, and it looked like the defending champions were about to crash out in the most humiliating way possible. Instead, Tuesday night in Atlanta turned into one of the great World Cup comebacks, with Argentina somehow escaping 3-2 winners in a match that gave everyone watching a mild heart attack.
Egypt weren’t just there to make up the numbers. Yasser Ibrahim headed the Pharaohs in front inside the first 15 minutes, and Argentina’s defence looked shaky from the jump. Messi had a chance to draw Argentina level from the penalty spot before halftime, but Egyptian keeper Mostafa Shobeir read it perfectly and pushed it away, his second penalty miss of this World Cup and the fourth of his career at the tournament finals. Not exactly the script Messi had in mind.
🗣️ “saya menangis karena saya merasa mengecewakan rekan saya akibat penalti yang saya gagal eksekusi… dan cara saya mengambilnya.
— Extra Time Indonesia (@idextratime) July 8, 2026
namun syukur sekali lagi, Tuhan mempunyai sesuatu yang spesial untuk saya di akhir. Saya sangat senang.”
– Leo Messi 🥹 pic.twitter.com/ZcWuSm7YFv
It got worse before it got better. Mostafa Zico doubled Egypt’s lead just past the hour mark off a Mohamed Salah assist, after seeing an earlier goal chalked off by VAR. With barely 20 minutes left on the clock, Egypt were dreaming of their first-ever win over Argentina at a World Cup, and honestly, they’d earned every bit of that dream.
Then It All Changed
With just over ten minutes to go, Argentina finally clicked into gear. Messi picked out Cristian Romero for a header that got Argentina back in it, then four minutes later did the finishing himself, pouncing on a loose ball and smashing it in off the crossbar to make it 2-2, breaking down in tears once it went in. Just a day after Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal crashed out of the tournament, the timing wasn’t lost on anyone still running the GOAT debate.
Argentina still weren’t done. Deep into stoppage time, substitute Lautaro Martinez whipped in a cross that Enzo Fernandez met with a diving header for the winner, knocking Egypt out and sending Argentina through to the quarterfinals. Egypt wanted the goal chalked off for a foul on Salah in the buildup. The referee wasn’t interested.
🇦🇷✨ Leo Messi with his teammates. pic.twitter.com/4z3gPj70rU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 7, 2026
The numbers on Messi’s night are wild even by his standards. Eight goals this World Cup, the most of anyone in the tournament, and his 21st goal at World Cups overall. He’s now scored in nine straight World Cup appearances for Argentina, a new record, in a match that also happened to be the two nations’ first-ever meeting at a World Cup finals.
This is the second knockout scare in a row for the champions, who also needed extra time to get past Cape Verde in the previous round. Up next is Switzerland, who booked their spot with a penalty shootout win over Colombia, in the quarterfinal in Kansas City this Saturday. If this World Cup has taught us anything, it’s that Argentina simply don’t know how to make things easy.