Defending champions Argentina produced one of the greatest comebacks in FIFA World Cup knockout history, recovering from a two-goal deficit to beat Egypt 3-2 in an enthralling Round of 16 encounter at Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday. Lionel Messi, who endured a frustrating first half after missing a penalty, sparked the comeback with a goal and an assist as Argentina booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Egypt stunned the world champions in the 15th minute through Yasser Ibrahim. The centre-back rose highest to meet Marwan Attia's inviting delivery from a cleverly worked short corner and powered a header beyond Emiliano Martínez to hand the Pharaohs an early lead.
Argentina had an immediate opportunity to equalise five minutes later when Julián Álvarez was brought down inside the area by Ramy Rabia. Messi stepped up from the spot but was denied by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who guessed correctly and dived to his left to keep out the effort. The miss was Messi's fourth in FIFA World Cup matches, extending his unwanted record for the most penalties missed in the tournament's history, excluding shootouts.
La Albiceleste dominated possession after the restart, but Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage in the 57th minute before VAR ruled the goal out for a foul in the build-up.
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However, in the 67th minute, Marwan Attia intercepted a cross-field pass before releasing Mohamed Salah down the right. The Liverpool forward delivered a low cross into the box, where Mostafa Ziko arrived to finish from close range and put Egypt 2-0 ahead, leaving Argentina on the brink of a shock exit.
Argentina's revival began in the 79th minute. A well-worked short corner ended with Lionnel Messi clipping a cross towards the far post, where Cristian Romero timed his run perfectly to power a header past Shobeir and reduce the deficit.
Just four minutes later, Messi brought Argentina level. Latching onto a loose ball inside the area, Messi kept his composure and smashed a volleyed finish into the goal off the crossbar to make it 2-2, moving clear at the top of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot standings with eight goals while extending his all-time World Cup scoring record to 21 goals.
Argentina completed the remarkable turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time. Leandro Paredes won possession in midfield and launched a quick transition finding Lautaro Martinez on the wing. The forward delivered an inch-perfect cross into the area where Enzo Fernández kept his composure to guide a header into the far corner, sealing a memorable 3-2 victory.
The closing stages saw tempers flare, with several Egypt players and members of the coaching staff booked as Argentina expertly managed the remaining minutes to secure their passage into the last eight.
Argentina will now face the winner of Switzerland and Colombia in the quarter-finals as they continue their bid to retain the FIFA World Cup title, while Egypt's historic run came to an agonising end after reaching the knockout stage for the first time in the nation's history.
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