Lionel Messi between nightmare and madness: Argentina makes a mega comeback in the World Cup round of 16 against Egypt

Messi (84th minute), who missed a penalty in the first half, and Cristian Romero (79th) initially equalized the Egyptian lead through Yasser Ibrahim (15th) and Mostafa Ziko (67th) with their goals. Enzo Fernández caused unbridled euphoria for the Albiceleste with the winning goal in stoppage time (90th + 2). Egypt, however, missed its first World Cup quarter-final appearance.

Despite the strain of the 120 minutes against Cape Verde, world star Messi was in the starting line-up as announced and there was a duel with Mohamed Salah, who was five years younger. But as always these days, Messi’s running was limited, but that didn’t stop the Argentines from letting the 39-year-old run almost every attack.

After a quarter of an hour of getting used to each other, Egypt suddenly burst into the Messi party with a cross. It landed on the head of Ibrahim, who had prevailed far too easily in the air against Lisandro Martínez. What followed was Egyptian ecstasy and Argentine shock. This lasted for a while.

Messi sets a negative record for a change

Because when Haissem Hassan fouled Nicolás Tagliafico in the penalty area four minutes later and referee François Letexier whistled for a penalty, Messi of all people made a mistake. He made things easy for Mostafa Shobeir with an unplaced shot in the 21st minute. It was Messi’s second missed penalty in this final round, having previously failed to score against Austria in the group stage.

And that is also a record that Messi probably can’t live without. Never before had a player missed two penalties at a World Cup – penalty shootouts are excluded here. Nevertheless, Argentina should have equalized before the break. But Alexis Mac Allister (28th) and Julian Álvarez (39th) were thwarted in celebration by outstanding saves from Shobeir. And Messi only hit the post with a free kick from a good 25 meters.

Former Bundesliga professional Mohamed Zidan emphasized before the game that the Egyptian game should not be about heart, but about discipline. “We can’t commit a foul in front of the penalty area,” said the 41-time international on MagentaTV. “We have to dream. Sometimes dreams come true.”

The Argentinians naturally had something against that. But the team found it increasingly difficult to create opportunities. The flood of chances at the end of the first half ebbed massively. Egypt, on the other hand, played their counterattacks better – and scored for the second time. But in the run-up to Ziko’s goal (58th), Marwan Attia stepped on Lisandro Martínez’s foot and the goal was canceled after the video referee intervened.

Salah and Co. did not let this discourage them. Less than ten minutes later, the star striker initiated the next transition opportunity, driving the ball deep into the Argentine half. There, Salah took Hassan on the wing, and Ziko, who had run in at the back, only had to hold out his foot. And this time it counted.

Romero’s header gave Argentina hope again in the final stages. The favorite pushed for an equalizer – and, of all people, Messi made it 2-2. In stoppage time, Fernández completed the furious comeback.