Lionel Messi is ‘very happy’ to keep Argentina alive in World Cup

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After a shaky win in the Round of 32 against Cape Verde, Argentina was looking on their way out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with about 20 minutes to go in full time. The defending world champions trailed Egypt 2-0 in what would have been a massive upset in the Round of 16 in Atlanta before starting their climb back.

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Lionel Messi and company then went on to stage one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the World Cup, scoring three goals in 13 minutes to beat Egypt 3-2 and move on to the quarterfinals in Kansas City.

After the game, Messi talked about how happy he was to be moving on and still kicking as he and Argentina look to defend their world title.

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"I thin it was a relief for everyone how the game went," Messi said. "It's not easy to lift a 2-0 (deficit) but like I always say, this group never lets up and they keep trying until the end. We had the luck of getting the goal quickly from Cuti (Christian Romero) and we still had time. We were able to turn it around. It's crazy what this group did today in this knockout game. Very happy that the people can keep being here, keep enjoying."

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Romero started the comeback with a nice finish in front of the net to chop the Egypt lead in half. Just a few minutes later, Messi came up with a moment of magic, drilling a half-volley with his left foot that kissed the bottom of the crossbar and crept across the line.

Finally, as stoppage time waged on, Enzo Fernandez finished a beautiful cross into the box with a header back behind the goalkeeper that gave Argentina the lead and eventually the win.

Now, the defending champs will be in Kansas City for a quarterfinal on Saturday against Switzerland, who beat Colombia in penalty kicks after a hard-fought game on Tuesday. While Messi and company know they got away with one, they will also be focused and ready for the Swiss with just three wins standing between them and another world title.

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