Lionel Messi was left crying tears of joy and sheer relief after inspiring Argentina to one of the greatest World Cup comebacks of all time.
Arguably the best footballer in history was just 11 minutes away from seeing his illustrious career on the sport’s grandest stage end with a shock last-16 defeat by Egypt, who led 2-0 in Atlanta on Tuesday thanks to goals in each half from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico - named after the Brazilian legend.
However, Messi, 39, simply would not allow Argentina’s defence of their third World Cup crown to end in such ignominious fashion as he led an astonishing fightback, first providing the cross from which Tottenham captain Cristian Romero headed home to halve the deficit.
His own half-volley lashed in four minutes later atoned for a poor first-half penalty that was easily saved by Mostafa Shobeir - Messi becoming the first player in World Cup history excluding shootouts to miss more than one spot-kick at the same tournament, following his botched effort against Austria during the group stage.
He also hit the post with a free-kick in the first half before later going on to become the first player ever to score in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches, taking his tally for a remarkable 2026 competition so far to eight as he moved back one clear of star rivals Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in the race for a maiden Golden Boot.
The stage was set for resurgent Argentina to complete an incredible turnaround in seven minutes of stoppage time and avoid a nervy extra half an hour, with Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez duly obliging with an unstoppable header from Lautaro Martinez’s cross to spark wild scenes of celebration on the pitch and in the strongly pro-Argentina crowd.
Messi and Fernandez were both thrown high into the air by their jubilant team-mates, while Messi could not stop the tears and Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said he was too emotional to conduct a post-match interview.
They will now go on to face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarter-finals in Kansas City on Saturday - the winners of which will meet either England or Norway in the semi-finals back in Atlanta on July 15.
Argentina’s terrific comeback did not come without a large dose of controversy, however, with Egypt furious that they were not awarded a penalty shortly before Fernandez’s dramatic winner after Mohamed Salah fell under the challenge of Julian Alvarez and Alexis Mac Allister appeared to pull the shirt of substitute Hamdy Fathy.
A red card was brandished at their bench amid a flurry of bookings as the Pharaohs lost their cool, livid at having a first-ever quarter-final berth cruelly snatched away from them at the last in what could well have been the 34-year-old Salah’s final match at the World Cup.
