[2026 World Cup] Messi Misses Penalty but Records 1 Goal and 1 Assist... Argentina's Dramatic Comeback Win over Egypt

Trailing 0-2, Argentina Scores Three Goals After the 34th Minute

Messi Tops Scoring Chart Alone with 8 Goals, One Ahead of Mbappe and Others

The defending champions, Argentina, scored three goals after the 34th minute of the second half, overturning a 0-2 deficit to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Lionel Messi nearly became the scapegoat for defeat by missing a penalty kick early in the first half when Argentina was trailing 0-1, but he redeemed himself as the hero by recording one goal and one assist in the second half, leading his team to a dramatic comeback. With his eighth goal of the tournament, Messi edged past Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland by one goal to once again top the scoring leaderboard alone.

On July 8 (Korean time), Argentina pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory by defeating dark horse Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16 match held at Atlanta Stadium in the United States during the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

Lionel Messi of Argentina is celebrating joyfully after scoring the equalizer at the 38th minute of the second half. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Egypt scored the opening goal in the 14th minute of the first half. Marwan Attia sent in a cross, which Yasser Ibrahim finished with a header.

Argentina immediately got a chance to equalize. In the 19th minute of the first half, Nicolas Tagliafico was fouled inside the penalty box, earning a penalty kick. However, as the kicker, Messi's shot was read perfectly and blocked by Egypt's goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. This marked Messi's second missed penalty kick in this tournament.

In the 30th minute of the first half, Messi aimed directly at the goal from a long-range free kick, but the ball hit the left post and bounced out, leaving him disappointed. Shobeir made a series of brilliant saves to keep Egypt in the lead. In the 28th minute, he stopped a close-range header from Alexis Mac Allister, and in the 39th minute, he threw himself to block Julian Alvarez's non-stop left-footed shot inside the box. The ball, deflected by Shobeir's left hand, narrowly rolled outside the right post.

Argentina continued to press in the second half but struggled to break through Egypt's defense. Instead, in the 12th minute of the second half, Egypt found the back of the net through a counterattack. Attia stole the ball from Lisandro Martinez near the right goal line. The ball was passed from Haissem Hassan to Mohamed Salah, and Mostafa Zizo finished Salah's pass by scoring against Argentina. However, after a VAR review, it was confirmed that Attia had fouled Martinez by stepping on his foot during the steal, so the goal was disallowed.

Shaking off the disappointment, Egypt eventually scored a flawless additional goal through a perfect counterattack in the 22nd minute of the second half. After a long-distance dribble, Salah passed to the right to Hassan, whose cut-back was finished by Zizo with his right foot, making it 2-0.

As defeat loomed, Argentina reignited their hopes in the 34th minute of the second half. Cristian Romero connected with a sharp cross from Messi, heading the ball into Egypt's net.

In the 37th minute of the second half, Messi broke through dense defense inside the box with superb dribbling and delivered a cut-back, but Lautaro Martinez's header missed the target, leaving Messi visibly frustrated as he lay on the pitch for a while.

Lionel Messi is being tossed into the air by his teammates after the match against Egypt. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

However, just one minute later, Messi finally leveled the match. He sent in a cross from outside the right side of the box, and after a scramble, the ball spilled in front of Messi, who had entered the box. Messi struck the bouncing ball precisely with a left-footed volley, scoring a dramatic equalizer.

Having played an intense extended match against Cape Verde in the round of 32, Argentina seemed determined to avoid extra time, continuing their offensive efforts. In stoppage time of the second half, Enzo Fernandez scored the winning goal, connecting with Lautaro Martinez's cross from the right with a precise header to complete the thrilling comeback victory.

With this dramatic win, Argentina will face the winner of the Switzerland-Colombia match in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. on July 12 (Korean time).

Egypt made waves in this tournament, not only earning their first-ever World Cup finals victory by defeating New Zealand 3-1 in the group stage, but also advancing to the knockout stage for the first time in history. Even in the round of 16, they pushed Argentina to the brink, but ultimately missed out on what could have been a historic upset.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.