Argentina vs Egypt

Photography by: Peter Bonilla and Matias Cerisola

Down two goals with just over 10 minutes remaining, Argentina looked destined for one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history at the hands of Egypt. Instead, they authored one of the tournament’s greatest comebacks and booked a ticket to the quarterfinals.

Three goals in the final 13 minutes—capped by Enzo Fernández's dramatic stoppage-time winner—rescued Argentina from elimination and secured a breathtaking 3-2 victory over Egypt in Atlanta. It was arguably one of the greatest games of this World Cup so far.

For long stretches, the game belonged to Egypt, and they looked every bit poised to hand Argentina an early exit. They stayed organized, fearless, and were brilliantly marshaled by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, frustrating Argentina at every turn while threatening on the counter.

Yasser Ibrahim stunned the defending champions after 15 minutes, rising above Lisandro Martínez to power home Marwan Attia's inviting cross. Moments later, Argentina had the perfect opportunity to respond when Nicolás Tagliafico was brought down in the box, but Shobeir guessed correctly to deny Lionel Messi from the penalty spot, his second penalty miss of the tournament.

Later on, Messi clipped the outside of the post with a free kick before Shobeir produced outstanding stops to deny Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez, preserving Egypt's unlikely lead heading into halftime.

The North Africans thought they had doubled their advantage shortly after the restart through Mostafa Zico, only for VAR to chalk the goal off for a foul earlier in the buildup. Nevertheless, in the 67th minute, Egypt struck again. Mohamed Salah sparked another devastating counterattack before Haissem Hassan squared for Zico, who made no mistake this time to put the Pharaohs 2-0 ahead and leave Argentina staring at an early exit.

But just when it seemed like all was lost for La Albiceleste, Cristian Romero ignited the comeback in the 79th minute, powering home Messi's pinpoint cross to give Argentina life. Four minutes later, the captain delivered again. After Egypt failed to clear their lines, Messi pounced inside the penalty area and rifled home his eighth goal of the tournament, sending the Atlanta crowd into delirium.

With momentum completely flipped, Argentina found one final dagger. Deep into stoppage time, Lautaro Martínez delivered a teasing cross into the box, where Fernández timed his run perfectly to head beyond Shobeir and complete a comeback that seemed impossible just minutes earlier. The goal also marked the 3,000th in World Cup history.

The emotional scenes at full-time reflected the magnitude of the escape. Messi, visibly overwhelmed, embraced teammates as Scaloni struggled to contain his emotions after the final whistle.

For Egypt, it was a heartbreaking end to a tournament in which they exceeded expectations and came within touching distance of one of the World Cup's greatest shocks. For Argentina, it was another dramatic escape that might just be the spark they need to really get going in these knockout stages.