Argentina spent most of the afternoon losing the kind of match that usually ends a reign. Then Lionel Messi turned it back into Argentina’s match, and Enzo Fernández finished the rescue.
The holders beat Egypt 3-2 in a World Cup Round of 16 game that had almost escaped them, coming from two goals down in the final 12 minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Yasser Ibrahim scored in the 15th minute, Mostafa Zico made it 2-0 in the 67th, and Egypt were close enough to the quarterfinals to feel the bracket opening.
Argentina answered through Cristian Romero in the 79th minute, Messi in the 83rd and Fernández in the second minute of stoppage time. A team that had already survived Cape Verde in extra time had to survive another uncomfortable knockout test, this time after missing a first-half penalty and conceding twice to a team built for the counterattack.
Messi’s penalty miss in the 21st minute gave the match its early warning. Mostafa Shobeir saved the left-footed shot, and Egypt carried a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ibrahim headed in Marwan Attia’s corner. Argentina had the ball, but Egypt had the cleaner scoreboard and the game state it wanted.
The danger only grew after the break. Zico had one goal overturned by VAR in the 58th minute, then scored nine minutes later from Haissem Hassan’s pass after a fast break. Egypt’s tournament had already included a penalty shootout win over Australia. For a long stretch here, it looked ready to take down the defending champion too.
Argentina’s late wave finally breaks Egypt
The comeback started from a set piece. Messi’s delivery found Romero in the 79th minute, and the defender’s header changed the final phase from Egypt’s management exercise into a siege. Four minutes later, Gonzalo Montiel found Messi in the middle of the box, and Argentina’s No. 10 finished high through the center to make it 2-2.
Argentina didn’t stop there. Lautaro Martínez, one of Lionel Scaloni’s second-half changes, crossed in stoppage time for Fernández, who headed in the winner and sent Argentina into the quarterfinals. It wasn’t a clean performance, but Argentina’s margin goes beyond tactics. It still has players who can turn panic into sequence.
The numbers explain why the comeback had a foundation. Argentina had 63.6 percent possession, 19 shots, seven on target and six corners. Egypt had only five shots, but two were on target and both became goals. That was the match in miniature: Argentina with volume, Egypt with efficiency, then Argentina with the final blow.
Egypt left with a brutal ending rather than a soft exit. Shobeir’s penalty save, Ibrahim’s header and Zico’s breakaway goal all gave the match a real upset shape. Four late yellow cards also showed how thin the final minutes became once Argentina pulled level and forced Egypt to defend every second.
For Argentina, the win keeps Messi’s last World Cup run alive and sets up a quarterfinal after another scare that will not be easy to ignore. The holders are still moving. They’re also still giving opponents enough hope to make every knockout round feel like a negotiation. Against Egypt, they paid late, paid heavily and escaped with the tournament still in their hands.
