Defending champions Argentina produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, booking their place in the quarter-finals and keeping their title defence alive.
Egypt made a flying start and shocked Argentina with two first-half goals. Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring before Mostafa Ziko doubled the advantage to give the African side a commanding 2-0 lead.
Earlier, Argentina had a golden opportunity to take the lead. However, captain Lionel Messi missed a penalty after Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shabir produced an important save.
Ziko thought he had scored again before halftime. However, the referee ruled out the goal for a foul, allowing Argentina to remain within touching distance.
After the break, Argentina increased the pressure and dominated possession. Eventually, the defending champions found a breakthrough in the 80th minute to reduce the deficit.
Three minutes later, Messi brought Argentina level with a clinical finish and reignited his team’s hopes.
Argentina completed the comeback with a late winning goal to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory and secure a place in the last eight.
As a result, Argentina kept its World Cup title defence on track, while Egypt exited the tournament despite an impressive first-half display.
Earlier in the tournament, Messi reached another historic milestone by becoming the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup appearances.
The 39-year-old came off the bench and scored a second-half free-kick during Argentina’s 3-1 victory over Jordan in the group stage.
Messi started that match among the substitutes because Argentina had already secured qualification for the knockout stage. Nevertheless, he entered after an hour and scored 20 minutes later to extend his record-breaking World Cup achievements.
