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Argentina staged a stunning comeback from a two-goal deficit to defeat Egypt 3-2 on Tuesday, avoiding a shocking exit and extending Lionel Messi’s World Cup career to the quarter-finals.
The defending champions looked defeated after goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko put the Pharaohs in sight of a historic victory in Atlanta.
Egypt’s strong performance even included goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saving a tentative first-half penalty from Messi, making the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner the first player to miss two penalties in a single World Cup tournament.
The match turned controversial in the second half when VAR disallowed a second Egyptian goal for a foul during the buildup.
Moments later, Ziko scored anyway to put Egypt up 2-0, leaving the exhausted Argentine squad looking defeated.
However, Cristian Romero sparked a remarkable revival by heading in Argentina’s first goal with just 11 minutes remaining in regular time, initiating a relentless late assault.
Messi found his redemption seven minutes from time, smashing home a sweet half-volley off the crossbar to score in his ninth consecutive World Cup game and take the tournament Golden Boot lead with eight goals.
Enzo Fernandez completed the dramatic turnaround two minutes into stoppage time, powering a superb header into the net from a Lautaro Martinez cross.
While the defeat left the Egyptian squad furious over the refereeing decisions, Argentina celebrated with tears of joy and now advance to face either Colombia or Switzerland on Saturday.
