Messi the Hero as Argentina Roar Back From 2-0 Down to Stun Egypt

Argentina produced one of the tournament's most dramatic recoveries, fighting back from 2-0 down to defeat Egypt 3-2 and secure a place in the World Cup quarterfinals. The result kept the defending champions alive and extended Lionel Messi's remarkable World Cup story.

For long stretches in Atlanta on Tuesday, the holders looked destined for a shock exit. Goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko put Egypt in command, and the Pharaohs appeared on the verge of a historic victory before Argentina mounted a late surge.

A Painful Penalty and Egyptian Resistance

Coach Lionel Scaloni reshuffled a side that had looked exhausted in its 3-2 win over Cape Verde in the previous round. Nicolas Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes and Julian Alvarez came into the lineup, but Argentina again started slowly.

Marwan Attia's deep delivery to the back post was powered home by Yasser to give Egypt the lead. Argentina had a chance to respond when Tagliafico was fouled inside the box by Haissem Hassan, but Messi's tentative spot kick was saved by Mostafa Shobeir, who dived to his left.

The miss added another chapter to Messi's difficult record from the penalty spot at World Cups. He has now missed four of his eight non-shootout penalties at the tournament and became the first player to miss two in a single edition, having also failed against Austria in the group stage.

Shobeir was inspired throughout. He parried a point-blank header from Alexis Mac Allister and produced one of the saves of the tournament to deny Alvarez a goal in the bottom corner.

Controversy and a Late Storm

Egypt believed they had doubled their advantage on the hour after a slick counterattack, with Mohamed Salah setting up Mostafa Ziko to dink the ball over Emi Martinez. The celebrations were cut short by a contentious VAR intervention that flagged a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the move.

The decision energized the largely Argentine crowd, but Egypt struck again soon after. Salah once more drove forward and fed Hassan, whose cross was swept in by Ziko to make it 2-0.

Argentina looked beaten, with heads bowed during the second-half drinks break. Then Cristian Romero's header, which Shobeir could not keep out, ignited the comeback with the defending champions scoring three times in the final 11 minutes plus stoppage time.

Messi's Redemption and a Stoppage-Time Winner

Messi found his moment of redemption seven minutes from time. Gonzalo Montiel laid the ball back and the captain struck a sweet half-volley that beat Shobeir off the crossbar for his 21st World Cup goal. It was his ninth consecutive World Cup match with a goal and moved him back atop the Golden Boot race with eight strikes this tournament.

Enzo Fernandez completed the turnaround two minutes into stoppage time, powering a header home from Lautaro Martinez's cross. At the final whistle, Messi wept with joy as he embraced his teammates.

Egypt were left furious over several decisions, including the disallowed goal, and a member of their coaching staff was shown a red card in the aftermath of the winning goal.

Argentina, who survived a second major scare against African opposition, will now face either Colombia or Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday. An emotional Scaloni cut short his post-match interview, telling reporters: "I can't look up, I'm sorry. I'm really emotional right now. What a group of players, man. That's it, I've got to go."

It was a night that captured the drama of knockout football, with fine margins, controversy and a legendary captain refusing to let his tournament end. Share this story with fellow fans and tell us where this comeback ranks among the great World Cup escapes.

Source: Al Jazeera English