2026 World Cup: Messi’s miracle, Argentina’s incredible comeback victory over Egypt

Incredible Lionel Messi, incredible Argentina. The world champions, down 2-0 with ten minutes left in the match, came from behind to defeat Egypt 3-2 and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup. The Pharaohs dreamed of an unexpected victory thanks to goals by Ibrahim and Ziko, but Messi (who missed a penalty in the first half) sparked the comeback in the second half, first setting up Romero’s goal and then scoring the equalizer himself to make it 2-2. Led by their captain, the Argentines scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute when Enzo Fernández headed in a cross from Lautaro Martínez. Egypt was left heartbroken, while Argentina advances and will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals.

A disastrous first half for Messi and his teammates. Argentina found itself surprisingly down in the 15th minute after a goal by Brahim, who headed in a cross from Ashour. The world champions’ reaction was fierce; in the 19th minute, Tagliafico earned a penalty, but Messi’s shot was saved by Shobeir (the fourth penalty missed by “La Pulga” in a World Cup). The Pharaohs’ goalkeeper was once again the star of the show in the 28th minute, when he made a reflex save on a shot by MacAllister, and in the 39th minute, when he made a miraculous save on a sure-fire shot by Julian Alvarez. Shortly before that, he had been saved by the post on a free kick by Messi from over 25 meters.

In the second half, in the 58th minute, Ziko scored to make it 2-0, but VAR disallowed the goal due to a highly contested foul by Enzo Fernandez earlier in the play. A few minutes later, the Pharaohs still managed to make it 2-0, this time with the goal standing: on a counterattack, Salah set up Hassan, who passed to Ziko, who couldn’t miss from right in front of the goal.

The situation for the world champions is dire; Lautaro Martinez and Nico Gonzalez come on for Tagliafico and De Paul, as Argentina shifts to an all-out offensive approach. The Albiceleste struggle to create danger, while their defense, now left exposed, is under constant pressure from Egyptian counterattacks.

But Messi is always Messi, and in the 79th minute, “La Pulga” gets his team back in the game: a precise left-footed cross into the box finds Romero, who catches the Egyptian defense off guard and beats Shobeir with a header to make it 1-2, bringing the game back to life. It marked the start of the defending champions’ final assault, as they desperately pushed forward in search of the equalizer.

And the 2-2 equalizer could only come from Lionel Messi: after a persistent attack by the Albiceleste, the Argentine finished it off with a great left-footed volley off a rebound following an assist from Alvarez. It was his ninth goal in this World Cup, his 22nd overall.

A crazy finale: Egypt nearly made it 3-2 in the 91st minute on a counterattack, but Paredes saved the day by blocking Marmoush’s shot, and on the ensuing counterattack, the Albiceleste scored the winning goal. On the break, Lautaro Martínez finds Enzo Fernández in the box, who heads home the unexpected 3-2 goal to seal the match. At the final whistle, everyone rushes to embrace Messi: another page of history has been written.