Argentina staged a dramatic late comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the World Cup round of 16 on Tuesday evening, July 7, 2026.
The defending champions trailed by two goals until just twelve minutes remained in regulation time.
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Egypt took an early lead through a header from defender Yasser Ibrahim.
Argentina had a chance to equalize when they were awarded a penalty, but Lionel Messi failed to convert, marking his second penalty miss of the tournament.
Egypt later had a goal by Mostafa Ziko disallowed due to an infraction.
Despite that, they extended their lead to 2-0 approximately three-quarters of the way into the match, putting the reigning champions on the brink of elimination.
The momentum shifted entirely toward Argentina during the final twelve minutes.
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Cristian Romero brought the score to 2-1 by heading in a precise cross from Messi, and Messi followed shortly after by scoring the equalizer to make it 2-2.
Controversy arose in stoppage time when Egypt argued a foul had been committed against Mohamed Salah.
Egypt contended the challenge was comparable to the foul that had nullified their own earlier goal, but both the referee and VAR denied the appeal.
Argentina capitalized on the continuation of play, launching an immediate counterattack that allowed Enzo Fernández to score the decisive third goal.
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Argentina will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinal round.
