Even a missed penalty kick could not shake the ‘God of Football’. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) led Argentina’s dramatic comeback, lifting his country into the World Cup quarterfinals.

On the 8th, at Atlanta Stadium in the U.S. state of Georgia, Argentina conceded the first two goals to Egypt in the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, but showed resilience by scoring three in a row after the midpoint of the second half to seize a thrilling 3-2 comeback win.

Having already scraped a 3-2 victory after extra time over Cape Verde in the round of 32, Argentina produced a stunning turnaround in the round of 16 to finally book a spot in the quarterfinals.

Egypt, which earned its first-ever win at a World Cup in this tournament and advanced to the knockout stage, pushed the ‘defending champions’ Argentina to the brink and performed admirably, but lowered their heads after losing focus at the end.

As so often in Argentina’s matches, the protagonist was Messi once again. He went from hell to heaven.

With Egypt having taken the lead after just 15 minutes through Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Argentina earned a golden chance to equalize in the 21st minute. Nicols Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon), who had driven into the left side of Egypt’s penalty area, was tripped by Haitham Hassan (Oviedo) and won a penalty.

But Messi, who stepped up as the taker, saw his strike saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly). It was Messi’s fourth penalty miss at World Cups.

Having weathered the storm to finish the first half 1-0 ahead, Egypt seemed to add another in the 13th minute of the second half when Mostafa Zico (Pyramids) scored in a counterattack. But an on-field review revealed Zico had been in an offside position, and the goal was disallowed. Even so, Egypt’s momentum did not fade, and in the 23rd minute of the second half Zico finally added another to pull further away, sprinting onto Hassan’s low cross from the right side of the box and turning it in.

As the match moved past the midpoint of the second half and Argentina’s defeat seemed imminent, Messi stepped up again.

In the 34th minute of the half, Messi sent in a cross from the right, and Cristian Romero (Tottenham) headed it home to ignite the chase. Four minutes later, Messi’s goal brought the game level. Amid a scramble in front of Egypt’s goal, the ball spilled to Messi, and he hammered a powerful left-footed shot into the net. With this goal, Messi scored in nine consecutive World Cup matches and increased his tally at this tournament to 8, returning to the outright lead in the scoring race.

Riding the momentum after Messi’s equalizer, Argentina went on to turn the match around. Two minutes into stoppage time, in a counterattack, Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) crossed from the right, and Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) headed into the net to complete the comeback.

There was a brief spell of confusion as Egypt, while leading, lodged strong protests to the referee about decisions, but once play resumed Argentina held off Egypt’s attacks and savored the victory.