Messi Leads Argentina's Historic 3-2 Comeback Over Egypt
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- Argentina came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta, with Romero (79th), Messi (83rd), and Enzo Fernández (90+2) scoring after Ibrahim (15th) and Zico (67th) had Egypt in control.
- The comeback was the first time in World Cup history a team won a knockout match in regulation after trailing by two goals in the 75th minute.
- Messi missed a first-half penalty saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir and also struck the post before delivering the late assist and equalizer — his 13th World Cup goal across a record nine consecutive matches scoring.
- Messi leads the Golden Boot race with 8 goals at the tournament, one clear of France's Kylian Mbappé and Norway's Erling Haaland.
- Argentina will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals in Kansas City on Saturday, bidding to become the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
- Egypt saw a Zico goal ruled out by VAR before their second stood, and were playing their first-ever round-of-16 match as record seven-time African champions.
Why it matters: Argentina's title defense survives and sets up a Switzerland quarterfinal, while Messi extends his Golden Boot lead to a one-goal margin over Mbappé and Haaland. Egypt exits after making history as the first Egyptian team to reach the World Cup knockout rounds — but a VAR-disallowed Zico goal, which ESPN and BBC are framing as 'injustice,' is an angle this recap barely surfaces.
