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Argentina captain Lionel Messi has revealed that he broke down in tears after his side’s dramatic World Cup victory over Egypt because he felt guilty about missing a penalty.
Argentina came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 on Tuesday in Atlanta and secure a place in the quarter-finals.
Messi missed a first-half penalty but later helped inspire the comeback by setting up Cristian Romero’s goal, scoring the equaliser, and watching Enzo Fernández net the winning goal deep into stoppage time.
Speaking after the match, Messi admitted the missed penalty had troubled him throughout the game.
“I cried because I felt that I let my teammates down, because of the penalty I missed… and the way I took it. But thankfully once again, God had something special for me in the end. I’m very happy,” he said.
The Argentine captain praised his teammates for refusing to give up despite trailing by two goals.
“We didn’t want and didn’t deserve to go home, we could not let it end like that. This group really deserved to keep going. We never give up, at all. Never,” Messi added.
Messi’s penalty was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 20th minute after Yasser Ibrahim had given Egypt the lead.
Egypt doubled their advantage through Mostafa Zico before Argentina mounted a remarkable comeback.
Messi created Romero’s goal, scored the equaliser in the 83rd minute, and Fernandez sealed the victory with a stoppage-time winner.
The goal was Messi’s eighth of the tournament, moving him back to the top of the Golden Boot race ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
It also extended his record of scoring in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches.
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on July 11 in Kansas City.
