Ed Aarons was at Atlanta Stadium, and here’s his report. Congratulations to Argentina, commiserations to Egypt, and thank you, dear reader, for sticking with the MBM. Switzerland-Colombia up next!
Post-match postbag. “Egypt showed in the second half that they can really play but for some reason stopped doing so. It was never a penalty and the Egyptian response has been really poor. Such a shame they stopped playing when it’s clear this Argentina team can be gotten at” – Niall Mullen
“Would have been a soft penalty for Egypt but was that tug any less than what the Egyptian goal was disallowed for?” – Stuart Lawson
“Egypt pull on Argentina shirt followed by 500 replays and a disallowed goal for Egypt that happened at the other end of the pitch. Argentina pull on Egypt shirt in their box? Zero replays, play on and goal at other end of the pitch allowed. No skin in the game, but that wouldn’t have been given against a Messi team. Scandalous” – Hugh Molloy
“VAR is supposed to be used for clear and obvious mistakes and the only thing here clear and obvious is Egypt feel absolutely robbed” – Eric Pye
“We all know 2-0 is the most dangerous score. All that aside, I for one am glad that the football gods won’t deny us the absolute chicanery that will be Argentina v Colombia, should they get there” – Casiano Martinez
“Argentina had the easiest opponent in the round of 32 as well as the round of 16. They are going to have the easiest opponent in the round of eight. In the semi-finals, they will be the easiest opponent” – Antti Lustila
“Maybe Egypt can give Trump a new plane or pyramid and he can make a call to Fifa about these goals?” – Graham G Martin
Argentina will now play the winner of Switzerland v Colombia in Kansas City on Sunday. Egypt will go home, having perhaps been dealt a rough hand by the officials: a goal ruled out for a clip way back in the move, plus two late penalty shouts turned down just before Argentina’s winner. “Sometimes the bigger teams do seem to get the benefit of the decisions,” admits Roy Keane on ITV, “but it shouldn’t take away from what Argentina have achieved.”
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Lionel Messi, so often a study in cool detachment, is crying with delight. His missed penalty could have been so costly for Argentina; instead his assist and goal in a four-minute-and-18-second spell hauled his team back level, before Enzo Fernandez sealed the deal in added time. Argentina cavort in a mix of glee and relief: number four is still on! Egypt meanwhile stare into the distance in disbelief, having lost a two-goal lead that had been richly deserved. Mo Salah bereft. It won’t make much difference right now, but perhaps later it’ll be reassuring to know that they didn’t throw anything away today: they simply came up against a force of nature with genius in his boots.
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FULL TIME: Argentina 3-2 Egypt
Egypt came so close to one of the great World Cup upsets. Instead Argentina completed one of the great World Cup comebacks. Messi in tears of joy!
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90 min +11: Lautaro Martinez takes the ball to the corner. He wins a throw. Then goes nose to nose with Attia. Egypt so frustrated.
90 min +9: Hossam Hassan, still irate over the Mac Allister incident, is booked for telling it as he sees it.
90 min +8: Attia is booked for a clip on Lautaro Martinez.
90 min +7: If Argentina see this out, it’ll be the first time they’ll have come back from two goals down to win at the World Cup.
90 min +6: The game restarts. Poor Salah looks utterly devastated. Fathy is booked for continuing the protests. Mac Allister did tug Fathy … but it would have been a terribly soft decision to penalise him.
90 min +5: Otamendi and Medina come on for Romero and Alvarez, while Zizo replaces Lasheen for Egypt.
90 min +4: Egypt are fuming. They think Mac Allister pulled Fathy to the ground in his own box just before Argentina countered and scored. Shobeir is booked for protesting. A member of their staff races onto the pitch and earns himself a red card.
GOAL! Argentina 3-2 Egypt (Fernandez 90+2)
Alvarez sprays the ball to Lautaro Martinez on the right. Martinez crosses, finding the head of the in-rushing Fernandez, who plants into the top-right corner, and Argentina have completed the comeback!
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90 min +2: The best form of defence for Egypt may be attack. Hany crosses from the right. Trezeguet competes for a header, and there are claims Mac Allister eases Fathy to the floor. But that’s not given. Then Salah cuts in from the right only to be stripped by Alvarez just inside the box. No penalty for that, either. Then Argentina go up the other end, and …
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90 min +1: Egypt launch a four on three counter! But Marmoush runs slap-bang into Paredes, whose last-man sliding block saves the day for Argentina!
90 min: There will be seven additional minutes.
89 min: Lautaro Martinez snaffles the ball from Hafez, who hauls him down. A free kick. Martinez briefly considers throwing hands, but thinks better of it. Messi sends the free kick low and hard towards the near post. Mac Allister tries to poke it goalward, but Shobeir blocks and the ball’s cleared. Argentina so close to completing a remarkable comeback!
87 min: Egypt are missing the out ball to Hassan. They can’t get out of their half at the moment.
85 min: Messi wasn’t missing from 12 yards that time. An absolute carpe-diem blooter. Four minutes and 18 seconds between the two Argentinian goals.
GOAL! Argentina 2-2 Egypt (Messi 83)
You can’t keep a good man down! Messi crosses from the right. Egypt don’t deal with it. Lautaro Martinez hooks back from the left. Alvarez cushions it into the path of Messi. The ball sits up, and with little backlift, Messi lashes home! The keeper no chance!
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82 min: Messi dribbles daintily down the right and dinks infield for Lautaro Martinez, whose downward header from six yards clanks wide right. Big chance. Big miss. Egypt, all of a sudden, are hanging on.
81 min: Messi and Mac Allister combine down the right to win a corner. Messi trots over to send it in. No obvious sign of panic from the great man … but his delivery is cleared by Egypt.
80 min: Egypt respond by replacing the goalscorer Zico with Marmoush.
GOAL! Argentina 1-2 Egypt (Romero 79)
Messi curls in from the right. Romero, left unmarked, six yards out, forces a header into the right-hand side of the net. Shobeir gets a hand to it, but can’t keep it out. Argentina aren’t out yet!
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78 min: Zico slips Trezeguet into the Argentina box down the left. He’s free … but facing a tight angle. He swishes a fierce drive into the side netting. Argentina on the brink.
76 min: Trezeguet has come on for the injured Hassan, who will be a big miss for Egypt. Hassan was exciting enough against Australia the other day; he’s been sensational this afternoon!
75 min: Gonzalez hooks in from the left. Lautaro Martinez sticks out a leg and diverts the ball harmlessly wide right.
73 min: The game restarts. Argentina have swapped Molina for Montiel. “God has made it clear he hates VAR,” claims Evan Crocker.
71 min: … and that’s drinks. Goodness knows Argentina need one. Something perhaps stronger than the “tea, coffee and fresh juices” offered by Egypt.
69 min: Hassan, Salah and Zico have been immense today … and that was their reward. What a combo! “I just wonder whether an envy-ridden Cristiano Ronaldo is in a hotel room somewhere sticking pins into a voodoo doll of Leo Messi,” writes Colum Fordham. “Nothing else would explain why La Pulga is playing so poorly (by his lofty standards) today.”
GOAL! Argentina 0-2 Egypt (Zico 67)
Zico scores again, and this time it’ll count! From the Argentinian corner, Salah streaks off on the counter. He drives at Romero, then feeds Hassan on the right. Hassan zips past Molina, reaches the byline, and cuts back for Zico who slams home from six yards! The shock is really on now!
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66 min: De Paul crosses long from the left. Zico, under no pressure, chests behind for a corner. Before it can be taken, Lautaro Martinez and Gonzalez come on for De Paul and Tagliafico.
64 min: If that doesn’t wake Argentina up from their sleepwalking, nothing will. They continue to press Egypt back, but the red shirts hold their shape. “Maybe, if Argentina lose, Fifa will insist on Messi playing for one of the teams in the final? With a few Americans to keep Trump happy?” Shh, David Marriott, for goodness sake, don’t be giving Gianni any ideas.
62 min: A huge let-off for Argentina, who were absolutely shredded on the counter there. But a free kick’s a free kick. That’s got the crowd going, though. Some atmosphere now.
NO GOAL! Argentina 0-1 Egypt
Ah shame. VAR intervenes. At the start of the move, deep in the Egyptian half, Attia tugged at Lisandro Martinez and stood on his foot. It’s a free kick. The correct decision, but heartbreak for Egypt, who “scored” one of the great counter-attack goals.
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GOAL! Argentina 0-2 Egypt (Zico 58)
A man named after a great Brazilian might have just knocked Argentina out of the World Cup! Hassan dances his way elegantly down the right. He cuts infield and feeds Salah, who slips the ball into the box for Zico, coming in from the left. Zico gets there ahead of Emi Martinez, and whips past the keeper and into the net! Wow!
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57 min: Tagliafico curls a cross in from the left. That’s easy for Shobeir. “I do love it when an Englishman or woman (it’s never a woman) indulges in some getting ahead of themselves such as, say, saying that England’s path to the final is pre-ordained,” writes Niall Mullen. “Even if tongue-in-cheek it not only throws yet more wood onto the inevitable celtic schadenfreude bonfire but also throws banana peels all along the path they wish to walk.”
56 min: Messi is stopped wandering down the right by Fathy. Free kick. Argentina don’t bother to put the set piece into the box. This might not be the time to get too cute.
54 min: Egypt are keeping the world champions at arm’s length right now. They’ll be delighted. At some point, Argentina will have to take it up a couple of notches, because time will become a serious issue for them soon.
52 min: Nothing comes of the resulting free kick, so the karma has levelled itself out.
51 min: Argentina pass and probe. Then Paredes lets the ball roll under his foot, and Salah is away! But the referee blows up for a very soft free kick. Salah would have had 80 yards to run, to be fair, so would probably have been caught. But he’d have at least launched a counter.
50 min: Hassan dribbles hard down the right and wins a throw deep in Argentina territory. If nothing else, he’s just given his defenders a rest.
49 min: Mac Allister finds Alvarez in space down the middle. Alvarez shuttles the ball on to Messi on his right. Messi is clear, but facing a tight angle. He eventually runs out of space. Goal kick.
47 min: Messi dribbles across the face of the Egypt box, left to right, and rolls a pass towards De Paul, who dribbles a weak shot straight at Shobeir. Not particularly convincing.
46 min: Within seconds of the restart, Messi has the chance to slip Alvarez away down the inside-right channel, but his pass is intercepted. “Egypt are pretty damn adept at defending a 1-0 lead,” notes Ian Copestake. “Is kinda what they ate for. Argentina don’t realise the web they are caught in.”
Egypt get the second half started. They’ve made one change at the break, replacing the injured Ashour with Fathy.
Half-time postbag: bonus track. “Wasn’t it Dennis Bergkamp who famously stopped taking penalties after a heartbreaking miss?” begins Russell Eberts. “Messi has missed 33 of his 116 penalties, a success rate of 72% (including friendlies). Bergkamp took 22, and missed three (86%), so it’s not the best sample size comparison, but, with apologies to everyone who doesn’t want to hear his name again, Cristiano Ronaldo has missed 36 in 186 attempts, a success rate of 80%.
“Messi’s Argentina teammates have the following success rates:
Julian Alvarez has made 15 out of 17 (88%)
Enzo Fernandez has made 10 out of 11 (91%)
Alexis Mac Allister has made 11 out of 12 (92%)
Leandro Paredes has made 14 out of 15 (93%)
“As someone who is hoping Argentina gets knocked out of the World Cup sooner rather than later, I hope Messi continues to take them!”
Half-time postbag. “Surely Egypt can’t go on defending this deeply, especially since they keep giving up chances. Eventually one of the many excellent Argentine forwards will put one past Oufa Shobeir. The Pharaohs need to go on the attack, at least every once in a while” – Kári Tulinius
“Scaloni might usefully recommend to his players that they don’t aim directly at the opposing goalkeeper whenever they have a chance to score. Do I get my coaching badge now?” – Colin Livingstone
“Being a ‘great’ player or striker doesn’t necessarily mean you should be the first pick for penalties. It’s a role for a specialist. Some of the best have been defenders, such as Ronald Koeman, Leighton Baines and Graham Alexander” – Andrew Goudie
“It’d be very interesting to see who would take the next penalty for Argentina, with Messi now having missed two at this World Cup (and four – four! – at all World Cups). Will Argentina contract a dose of Ronaldoitis or will footballing sense prevail?” Justin Kavanagh
“Cape Verde would have played better than this. Only saying” – Alexandra Fullerton
“If this keeps up maybe Infantino will call Trump and get Shobeir deported” – Chris Rodgers
“England’s path to glory is starting to look pre-ordained. As I’m sure all England fans will agree, nothing can go wrong now!” – Matt Emerson
HALF TIME: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
Argentina trail at the break in a World Cup match for the first time since the days of Paul the Octopus.
45 min +4: Rabia recovers and play restarts.
45 min +3: Rabia goes up for a high ball and lands flat on his back. He’s winded. Play stops so he can recover.
45 min +2: Parades floats a diagonal ball into the box from the left. Messi nearly gets on the end of it … but his nemesis Shobeir comes off his line to claim. “All I can say is that, if this result holds, it won’t go down well with Fifa,” predicts David Marriott.
45 min +1: The first of five additional first-half minutes.
45 min: Romero slides in on Salah, and now he’s a bit fortunate not to go into the book. A fussier referee might have flashed a couple of yellows here, but this one’s keeping everyone happy enough and the match ticking on nicely.
44 min: Messi is clipped in midfield and, after a pause, the whistle goes. Salah, who was preparing to launch a counter, flings the ball away in irritation. The referee treats him very kindly and merely wags his finger.
43 min: Tagliafico is getting a lot of joy down the left. He cuts inside and tries to tee up Alvarez, who can’t get a first-time shot away. Passes are exchanged with Messi, and Alvarez then blazes over the bar from the edge of the box. “Messi may be one of the greatest players of all time, but there is more than enough evidence to show he is a below average penalty taker,” writes Shaun Wilkinson. “Can nobody in the Argentina camp grow a spine and take him off them?”
41 min: The resulting corner comes in from the right. Messi with the delivery. Tagliafico flicks it on at the near post … but there’s nobody racing in at the back. Goal kick.
40 min: A long pass down the inside-left channel for Tagliafico, who extends a leg to hook into the middle for Alvarez. The striker opens his body and powerfully sidefoots towards the bottom right. It should be a picture-book goal … but Shobeir extends fully to stick out a strong hand and turn around the post! What a goal that would have been! What a save!
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38 min: Messi channels his inner Hafez and skies a long-range shot. A penalty miss, a post hit, and now that uncharacteristically witless blooter. It’s not been his day so far.
37 min: Argentina pass it around to little effect. Egypt look reasonably comfortable at the moment.
35 min: Hafez tries a shot from 35 yards. There’s ambition, and there’s ambition. The shot flies about 35 yards wide right, and rises to a similar height.
33 min: Salah sticks out a foot and catches Alvarez with his studs. Not the greatest challenge but it’s only a free kick. “Argentina’s president Milei is going to need to phone a friend,” suggests Justin Kavanagh.
31 min: Mac Allister turns Ashour, 30 yards out, just to the left of centre. and that’s a free kick in a dangerous position. Messi whips it towards the top-left corner … and off the outside of the post! The referee awards a corner, but VAR gets involved to do right by Egypt.
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29 min: Argentina move up a gear. De Paul crosses from the right; Mac Allister should really score from six yards with his header. But it’s straight at the keeper and parried. Then Fernandez takes a shot from the edge of the box, but that’s blocked as well.
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28 min: … and consider. If he’d converted all of his World Cup spot kicks, Messi would be miles ahead at the top of the all-time scoring list. He tops it anyway, with 20 goals to Kylian Mbappé’s 19, but with a better record from 12 yards, he’d be a dot on the horizon.
27 min: The game restarts.
26 min: According to ITV, Lionel Messi has just become the first player to miss two penalties at the same World Cup (not counting shootouts), having already missed one against Austria. Football is such a weird sport sometimes.
24 min: … and that’s drinks. Argentina field this first break, and serve up some digestif liqueur with cola. Chin chin!
23 min: That was the eighth penalty Messi has taken at a World Cup … and the fourth missed! That’s an absurdly poor record for one of the greatest players ever to pull on boots.
Messi's penalty is saved
21 min: After the usual pre-penalty faff, Messi steps up and slaps his spot kick towards the bottom right. It’s not well hit. Nowhere near the corner and the perfect height for a keeper! Shobeir reads the intent and parries clear!
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Penalty for Argentina
19 min: Tagliafico chases after Fernandez’s pass down the inside-left channel. He enters the box. Hassan, who had let his man go too easily, sticks out a panicked leg and brings him down. The referee points immediately to the spot.
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17 min: Salah is clipped by Paredes, inside the Argentina D. The referee waves play on. A free kick awarded there and then would have got the old Argentinian nerves jangling.
16 min: Well, that’s put the cat among the pigeons! Anything Cape Verde can do …
GOAL! Argentina 0-1 Egypt (Ibrahim 15)
Hany pesters Lisandro Martinez down the right and wins Egypt their first corner of the match. The set piece is worked back up the flank to Attia, who swings in. Ibrahim ghosts in ahead of Lisandro Martinez and plants an unstoppable header into the top right! Emi Martinez rooted to the spot!
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13 min: De Paul clips Ashour late, an obvious free kick. De Paul doesn’t think so, and nearly talks himself into the book with his over-reaction. Messi comes across to calm everything down.
11 min: Argentina sprang dangerously to life there, and Egypt have done well to come out the other side unscathed. An early shot across the bow from the champs.
9 min: Fernandez sends a ball down the inside-right channel and nearly releases Messi. Rabia ushers him away. But Argentina come again, Mac Allister pinging De Paul clear on the right. De Paul makes it to the right-hand edge of the six-yard box, and rolls across for Fernandez … who somehow sidefoots wide right from a couple of yards! What a preposterous miss! He’s very relieved to see the flag pop up (correctly) for offside.
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7 min: Hassan looked dangerous against Australia, and he starts well here, winning a free kick down the right. Attia sends a ball into the mixer and Argentina let it sail all the way across the face of their goal. They get away with that, as there are no red shirts lurking. That’ll give Egypt some hope.
5 min: Fernandez strips Salah of the ball and makes to launch an attack with Egypt light at the back. But the whistle goes for a generous foul. Fernandez is astounded, but the referee’s word is (these days only usually) final.
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3 min: Messi drops deep and tries to release Tagliafico with a reverse pass down the inside-left channel. He overcooks it. Goal kick. Nobody’s perfect.
2 min: … but Fernandez gets back up once the sting of impact subsides. Relief for Argentina.
1 min: Fernandez goes down having taken a whack on the knee from Hany. An accidental collision but a sore one nonetheless. A bit of concern.
Argentina get the ball rolling. It’s relatively cool under the closed roof.
The teams congregate in the tunnel. Mo Salah clasps friendly hands with Lionel Messi, then warmly hugs his former Liverpool team-mate Alexis Mac Allister. A lovely moment before everyone marches out to battle. A fine atmosphere inside the home of the Atlanta Falcons. Argentina are in their famous blue and white stripes, while Egypt wear first-choice red. We’ll be off once the anthems have been sung and coins tossed. Give it five.
Pre-match postbag. “At last, a game I can actually watch without falling asleep half way through. Well, I say that, but I’m on holiday and have been on the McTinn since lunchtime. Wimbledon’s just not the same since Andy Murray stopped playing, so it’s the World Cup all the way for me now. Somebody’s bringing it home, that’s for sure, hopefully it’ll be anyone but England, baby!” – Simon McMahon
“Be prepared for the following scenario. Belgium team gets deported. USA plays Spain as Belgium is not available (permissible under article DT250GI). Spain gets deported. USA plays France. France gets deported along with the Statue of Liberty. You get the drift. 19th July USA is crowned champions unopposed” – krishnamoorthy v
“That claim of biking from Buenos Aires to Atlanta seems outrageous. I asked Google. Bicycling from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Atlanta, Georgia covers roughly 5,000 to 6,000+ miles (8,000 to 10,000 km) along the Pan-American Highway. Cyclists on long-haul tours generally take 1.5 to 2.5 years to complete the journey, though a highly aggressive, direct pace might cut the timeline down to about six months” – Astonished Nigel
One goal today will put Lionel Messi ahead in the race for the Golden Boot. Here’s how it looks at the moment as four genuine superstars scrap for soccer’s shiniest shoe.
There’s time to kill before kick-off. What better way to spend it than with Max, Barry et al? Join them in waving cheery-bye to Cristiano.
You wait all day for one Ed Aarons post … then two come along at once! Just as I was trailing his preview piece, Ed gets in touch with this communiqué from Georgia.
The atmosphere is building at the Atlanta Stadium, where temperatures are already in the 30s. Thankfully it’s fully air-conditioned inside. As you might expect, there are thousands of Argentina fans here to see if the reigning champions can book their place in the quarterfinals but not all have managed to get tickets. One has even cycled all the way from Buenos Aires to be here so let’s hope he gets lucky. There’s also plenty of Pharaohs fans wearing Mohamed Salah shirts. Can the Egyptian King inspire them to a famous victory?
A tale of two 10s. Lionel Messi and Mo Salah have met twice before. Ed Aarons has the details.
Egypt make two changes after the penalty shootout win over Australia. Haissem Hassan replaces Omar Marmoush up front, while Mohanad Lasheen comes into the midfield at the expense of Hamdy Fathy.
Argentina make three changes to their starting XI following the 3-2 extra-time victory over Cape Verde. Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes and Julian Alvarez come in for Facundo Medina, Thiago Almada and Lautaro Martínez.
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The teams
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez, Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Tagliafico, De Paul, Paredes, Mac Allister, Fernandez, Messi, Alvarez.
Subs: Musso, Rulli, Senesi, Montiel, Barco, Lo Celso, Palacios, Gonzalez, Almada, Simeone, Paz, Otamendi, Lopez, Lautaro Martinez, Medina.
Egypt: Shobeir, Hany, Rabia, Ibrahim, Hafez, Ashour, Attia, Lasheen, Hassan, Salah, Ziko.
Subs: El Shenawy, Soliman, Mohamed Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Fathy, Emad, Adel, Saber, Marmoush, Tarek Alaa, Zizo.
Referee: Francois Letexier (France).
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Argentina and Egypt have only played each other twice before. Most recently, Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso scored the goals in a 2-0 victory for La Albiceleste in a 2008 friendly in Cairo. Lionel Messi was out injured that day, so that has about as much relevance as the meeting at the 1928 Olympic Games, which Argentina won 6-0.
Egypt’s progress out of the groups was a bit more fraught. A staunch draw with Belgium, a win over New Zealand, and a skin-of-their-teeth draw against Iran.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | Egypt | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Iran | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | -6 | 1 |
Having won their first group game at the World Cup, Egypt then went on to register their maiden knockout victory. It wasn’t that memorable … not until Mo Salah converted a Power Panenka, anyway.
Here’s how the world champions Argentina have got here. It was plain sailing in the groups, with Lionel Messi rattling them in during wins over Algeria, Austria and Jordan …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Austria | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Algeria | 3 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | Jordan | 3 | -5 | 0 |
… though things got a bit trickier in the next round. Messi is unquestionably a World Cup legend … but in a different sort of way, Sidny Lopes Cabral is too.
A reminder of how it all began … and a chance to reacquaint yourself with both teams.
Preamble
Messi versus Salah is an awfully reductive way of framing this match. But it is Messi versus Salah. But while you’d expect Messi’s Argentina to have too much for Salah’s Egypt … that Cape Verde match proved nothing is nailed-on. Also …
… and he wasn’t even on the pitch. But the underdog vibes of that day are the same. So you never know. Chances are, Argentina will set up a quarter-final match with either Switzerland or Colombia. But … well … that t-shirt, and that outcome, shows why we’re going to have to go through more than the motions. Kick-off is at 12pm EDT/5pm BST. It’s on!
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