Messi rescues Argentina in historic 3-2 comeback vs Egypt
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- Argentina erased a 2-0 hole in the closing stages to beat Egypt 3-2, the first time in World Cup history a team won a knockout match in regulation after trailing by two goals in the 75th minute.
- Lionel Messi scored in a record ninth consecutive World Cup match and assisted Cristian Romero's 79th-minute pullback, rescuing Argentina after Egypt's Mostafa Shobeir saved his first-half penalty.
- Messi's eight goals at this tournament put him one clear of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, with a two-goal lead over Mbappé on the World Cup career leaderboard.
- Egypt goals came from Yasser Ibrahim (15') and Mostafa Zico (67'), with a second-half strike disallowed via VAR; the seven-time African champions had already made history by reaching the round of 16 for the first time.
- Argentina, bidding to be the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Brazil in 1958-62, will face the winner of Colombia vs. Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday.
- Messi has now missed a record four of his eight World Cup penalty kicks, including a second miss of this tournament against Austria in the group stage.
Why it matters: Argentina stay alive in their title defense and keep Messi's farewell tournament on track, while his eight-goal Golden Boot lead over Mbappé and Haaland makes him the clear favorite with the quarterfinals looming. Egypt's run ends despite becoming the first African side in their history to reach the knockout round.
