Lionel Messi Erases Penalty Heartbreak With Late Comeback Magic to Send Argentina to Quarter Finals
Argentina needed a miracle in Atlanta, and Lionel Messi delivered one. Trailing 2-0 with barely ten minutes on the clock, Lionel Scaloni’s side looked destined for an early World Cup exit against a fearless Egypt team that had outworked them for most of the night.
Instead, Argentina somehow found a way to win 3-2, capping off one of the wildest last-16 ties the tournament has seen. It started poorly. Argentina looked flat, much like they had in their scrappy win over Cape Verde, and Egypt made them pay early when Yasser Ibrahim rose unmarked to head home a cross from Marwan Attia inside the first quarter-hour.
Messi had a chance to level things not long after, but his penalty was read easily by Mostafa Shobeir and saved, the fourth spot-kick he’s now missed in eight attempts at World Cups.
Egypt doubled their advantage through Mostafa Zico, who finished off a slick counter-attack after having an earlier goal chalked off for a foul on Lisandro Martinez. At that point, Argentina’s title defense looked to be hanging by a thread.
Then Messi took over. He set up Cristian Romero to pull one back, and with just seven minutes left, he scored the equalizer himself. Egypt never even got the chance to test extra time. Enzo Fernandez, showing surprising energy for a midfielder deep into a knockout game, headed in a brilliant cross from Lautaro Martinez to complete the turnaround and send Argentina through.
Here’s how the Argentina players graded out on the night.
Goalkeeper and Defense
Emiliano Martinez earned a 5, largely a spectator on both Egyptian goals but sharp with a couple of crucial claims late on.
Nahuel Molina also got a 5, had a solid distribution and he whipped in a cross Alexis Mac Allister failed to convert.
Cristian Romero was one of the night’s standouts with a 6, throwing himself into challenges as usual and heading Argentina back into contention.
Lisandro Martinez struggled, earning just a 4; his physicality was there, but his defensive lapses were costly, including a hand in Egypt’s opener.
Nico Tagliafico rounded things out with a 6, dangerous going forward and the man who won the penalty Messi couldn’t convert, though he visibly faded in the second half after only recently returning from injury.
Midfield and Attack
The midfield told a mixed story. Rodrigo De Paul was poor again after an underwhelming outing against Cape Verde, offering little before being hooked a performance that makes it hard to see him starting the quarter-final.
Leandro Paredes came in to add some steel but didn’t really deliver on that front, though one crucial last-ditch tackle to snuff out an Egyptian break stood out.
Enzo Fernandez was quiet for most of the night but made it count when it mattered, timing his run perfectly to head home the winner in the closing seconds.
Alexis Mac Allister got to play further forward with Paredes holding, but he struggled to make it count, giving away fouls and heading a good chance straight at the keeper.
Up top, this was Messi’s night through and through. Lionel Messi earned an 8, visibly emotional afterward given how close Argentina had come to going out, and how much blame he’d have carried for another missed penalty.
Instead, he produced a goal and an assist to drag his team over the line, the kind of performance that reminds everyone why he’s still the one Argentina turns to.
Julian Alvarez, preferred to Lautaro from the start, forced a good save in the first half but didn’t offer much beyond that across the 90 minutes.
Substitutes and the Manager
The bench made a real difference. Lautaro Martinez came on and immediately added a spark, nodding a near-post effort just wide before delivering a stunning cross in the 93rd minute that set up Enzo’s winner, a moment of composure few players find that late in a knockout game.
Nico Gonzalez, brought on alongside Lautaro, injected some fresh energy into a tiring side. Gonzalo Montiel, introduced with around 15 minutes left, played his part too, showing calm in the box to tee up Messi’s equalizer.
Nicolas Otamendi and Facundo Medina not rated. As for Lionel Scaloni, his in-game changes clearly helped turn things around, but this is now the second nervy scare in as many matches, and questions about his midfield setup heading into the quarter-final aren’t going away.
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It wasn’t pretty for long stretches, but nights like this are exactly why Lionel Messi remains the difference-maker Argentina keeps leaning on when everything else is going wrong.
