ATLANTA—For the second time in the past four days, Argentina’s hopes to repeat as World Cup champions were hanging by a thread, as they stared down the possibility of a seismic upset.
And for the second time in four days, they were rescued by the greatest player in the history of the game.
One game after pulling out an extra-time win against Cape Verde, Lionel Messi and Argentina were once again in dire trouble. Seventy-nine minutes into the game, they trailed Egypt, who entered the game a massive underdog, 2-0. The 39-year-old Messi’s final World Cup seemed all but certain to end in ignominy.
That’s when a sudden blitz in the game’s closing moments turned the tide. First, Argentina pulled a goal back in the 79th minute through Cristian Romero. Then, in the 83rd, Messi struck to pull the champions level. With the ball bouncing near Egypt’s goal, Messi lashed it home to notch his eighth goal of the World Cup.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Round of 16 – Argentina v Egypt – Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. – July 7, 2026 Egypt’s Mostafa Shoubir saves a penalty missed by Argentina’s Lionel Messi REUTERS/Paul Childs
Finally, when Enzo Fernandez headed home a stunning third goal in the second minute of stoppage time, they had done what they needed to survive again and win 3-2.
Argentina’s win meant that one day after his eternal counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo bowed out with Portugal, Messi’s last dance would continue—even on a day when Messi missed a penalty kick.
“It was very difficult, especially when we were two goals down, to come back again, to suffer again,” Messi said. “But this is the World Cup for you.”
The irony in the latest white-knuckle comeback is that no one at this World Cup seemed to have a smoother road to the final than Argentina. While others worried about the superpowers in their path, the entire tournament was opening for Messi to defend the trophy he won in Qatar four years ago.
But both of Argentina’s knockout matches here have turned into near-death experiences. Argentina entered Tuesday’s game as the second-ranked team in FIFA’s rankings, having won its last 10 World Cup matches. Egypt, despite being the most decorated team in African soccer, had to grind out two tense draws just to survive its World Cup group, and got through the Round of 32 only after a penalty shootout.
Track records flew out the window in the 15th minute, though, when it was Egypt who opened the scoring. Suddenly, the heavily Argentine crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium went ballistic. They had come to witness more of Messi’s miracles, not his World Cup swan song.
Things appeared to be going in that direction, when Messi saw a penalty saved in the 21st minute. Strangely, for the greatest player of his generation, it was the second penalty miss of the World Cup.
In the second half, Mostafa Zico made it 2-0 to Egypt, moments after the Pharaohs had a goal disallowed by instant replay for a foul that occurred at the other end of the pitch. But the hour that Egypt spent believing it was about to record one of the great upsets in World Cup history was merely prologue.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Round of 16 – Argentina v Egypt – Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. – July 7, 2026 Egypt’s Mostafa Zico celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Marco Bello TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
An hour of game time after Messi couldn’t convert a penalty, he had a much more difficult and infinitely higher-pressure chance. The ball was careening this way and that in the Egyptian 18-yard-box when Messi found it with his left foot. It bounced off the goalkeeper and crossbar before it found the net.
“He missed a penalty, you could focus on that,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “But Messi asks for the ball again. He tries again and again. I get goosebumps, to be honest.”
Messi went sprinting off the field, leaping into the air and embracing his teammates. And just a few minutes later, he hugged them again—when the final whistle mercifully sounded and Argentina had, once again, survived.
Messi’s World Cup career will extend at least one more game: a quarterfinal on Saturday evening.
Write to Robert O’Connell at robert.oconnell@wsj.com
