World Cup 2026: Reaction as Egypt accuse Fifa of 'fix' following Argentina's victory to set-up Switzerland tie

Argentina reach quarter-finals with extraordinary comeback against Egypt

Argentina 3-2 Egypt

Matthew Howarth

BBC Sport

Argentina were given another almighty scare before delivering a scarcely believable second-half comeback to break Egypt hearts and reach the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

The reigning world champions - sent to extra time by Cape Verde in the last round - had looked set for a shock exit against the Pharaohs, who led 2-0 thanks to goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico.

But Cristian Romero halved the deficit 11 minutes from time before Lionel Messi – who had missed a first-half penalty – equalised five minutes later and set up a nail-biting finish.

Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback two minutes into injury time, heading home Lautaro Martinez's cross to set up a quarter-final tie against Switzerland.

The winner came on the counter-attack just moments after Egypt felt they had been denied a penalty for a trip on Mohamed Salah, to the fury of many on their bench.

It was impossible not to feel for Egypt, who had not won a World Cup match prior to this tournament but were minutes away from eliminating the three-time winners in Atlanta.

Victors over Australia in the round of 32, the Pharaohs sent their fans into ecstasy on 15 minutes when Ibrahim outjumped Lisandro Martinez to nod Marwan Attia's cross into the bottom corner.

But Argentina – and tournament top scorer Messi – were given a golden opportunity to restore parity when Haissem Hassan tripped Nicolas Tagliafico inside the penalty area five minutes later.

Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, however, produced a magnificent save to deny the 39-year-old, who also had a penalty saved in a 2-0 victory over Austria in the group stage.

Shobeir was outstanding in the first half, saving well from Alexis Mac Allister's header before delivering a superb one-handed stop from Julian Alvarez's goal-bound effort three minutes before the interval.

Zico had a goal disallowed by the video assistant referee shortly before the hour mark, but the 29-year-old stroked home Hassan's delivery midway through the second period to leave Egypt on the brink of an unlikely quarter-final spot.

Argentina had created precious little up to that point, but Romero's 79th-minute header sparked Lionel Scaloni's team into life before Messi slammed home his 21st World Cup goal to set up a frantic conclusion to a pulsating contest.

Fernandez had the final say, his perfectly placed header completing one of the great World Cup recoveries with the 3,000th goal in tournament history.

Razor sharp Messi pulls Argentina up from the canvas

Argentina 3-2 Egypt

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer at Atlanta Stadium

Lionel Messi stood in the centre of Atlanta Stadium in floods of tears, sobbing on the shoulders of his team-mates, after adding another remarkable World Cup victory to the story of his incredible career.

Argentina's great sporting icon had been captured on the giant screens looking up in despair as the holders trailed Egypt 2-0 with less than 20 minutes left.

At that point, any tears Messi may have shed would have been the same as those of his great contemporary Cristiano Ronaldo, who made an emotional farewell to the World Cup after Portugal's injury-time loss to Spain.

Instead, this defiant Argentina decided that was simply not going to happen - scoring three goals in 14 minutes to turn the game around in one of the most remarkable comebacks the World Cup has ever seen.

Messi may be 39 and doing much of his work at walking pace these days, but the magic has not been dimmed by the passing of the years.

Messi watches. Messi waits. Messi conserves his energy for when it matters. The body may be slower but the brain remains razor sharp. The genius is permanent.

And he proved it once more in the most dramatic fashion on another spine-tingling World Cup occasion, pulling Argentina up from the canvas just as Egypt were about to add to this tournament's list of shocks.

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