Lionel Messi helped Argentina produce a historic Messi World Cup comeback. The defending champions fought from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the quarterfinals.
According to ESPN, Argentina trailed 2-0 in the closing stages at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. However, Messi sparked a dramatic late rally.
Egypt took the lead in the 15th minute through Yasser Ibrahim before Mostafa Zico doubled the advantage in the 67th minute. He scored with a close-range finish from a counterattack.
The African side looked set to pull off one of the biggest shocks of the tournament. They had already made history by reaching the round of 16 for the first time.
However, Messi turned the game around for Argentina in the final minutes.
The 38-year-old first assisted Cristian Romero in the 79th minute before scoring four minutes later to level the match.
Enzo Fernández then completed the comeback in stoppage time. He headed home in the 92nd minute to send Argentina into the last eight.
The result made history. Argentina became the first team to win a World Cup knockout match in regulation time after trailing by two goals in the 75th minute.
Messi also made personal history by scoring in a record sixth straight World Cup knockout match.
The Messi World Cup comeback came after a difficult first half for the Argentina captain. He missed a penalty when Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved his effort.
Messi also struck the post while Argentina trailed 1-0, as Egypt frustrated the defending champions for long spells.
The missed penalty extended Messi’s unwanted record at the World Cup, making it four misses from eight attempts in regulation time. He also became the first player to miss two penalties in a single edition of the tournament. Messi had failed to score from the spot against Austria in the group stage.
Despite that setback, Messi continued his remarkable scoring run. His goal against Egypt means he has now scored in nine consecutive World Cup matches. This run dates back to Argentina’s title-winning campaign in 2022.
He has scored 13 goals across that nine-game run. Meanwhile, his eight goals at this year’s tournament put him ahead of France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race.
Argentina will now face either Colombia or Switzerland in the quarterfinals in Kansas City on Saturday. They continue their bid to become the first team since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to win back-to-back World Cup titles.
The Messi World Cup comeback also strengthened his lead over Mbappé on the all-time World Cup goals leaderboard.
