Argentina produced a dramatic late comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 on Tuesday, overturning a two-goal deficit to secure a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
The defending champions appeared on the brink of a shock elimination at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico gave Egypt a 2-0 lead with only 11 minutes of normal time remaining.
Messi leads Argentina’s revival
Cristian Romero sparked Argentina’s comeback in the 79th minute, heading home from a precise Lionel Messi cross to reduce the deficit.
Four minutes later, Messi volleyed in a superb equaliser, scoring his eighth goal of the tournament to make it 2-2 and ignite celebrations among the 68,239 spectators, the majority of whom were backing Argentina.
With extra time seemingly inevitable, Enzo Fernandez headed in the winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time to complete an extraordinary turnaround.
An emotional Messi was overcome with tears after the final whistle.
“Turning a match around like that, coming back from 2-0 down, wasn’t easy, especially in a World Cup where every team is fighting until the end,” Messi said.
“It was a moment of pure happiness and relief. We wanted to stay in the tournament. We didn’t want today to be the end.”
The thrilling encounter also saw Messi miss a first-half penalty for the second time in the tournament, while Egypt had a second-half goal ruled out following a VAR review.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan criticised the officiating after the match, claiming his side had been treated unfairly.
“I do not want to talk about bad luck. We have been cheated unfairly today and suffered injustice,” he said.
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play.”
The victory followed another tense outing for Argentina, who needed extra time to eliminate Cape Verde in the round of 32.
Switzerland join Argentina in quarter-finals
Argentina will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals in Kansas City on Saturday after the Swiss defeated Colombia 4-3 on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time in Vancouver.
The victory sent Switzerland into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since hosting the tournament in 1954.
The quarter-final line-up is now complete, with France set to face Morocco on Thursday as the last-eight stage begins.
Meanwhile, the United States became the final World Cup co-host to exit the tournament after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday.
The match was overshadowed by controversy surrounding striker Folarin Balogun, who was cleared to play following a FIFA reprieve.
Belgium’s players later celebrated the victory by recreating US President Donald Trump’s signature dance in their dressing room, according to videos shared on social media.
The United States Soccer Federation also said discussions with coach Mauricio Pochettino regarding his future will continue after the tournament.
