In the match of the tournament, Argentina came from 2-0 down against Egypt with ten minutes to go to win 3-2, keeping Lionel Messi’s hopes of a second World Cup alive. It was a performance of champions; Lionel Scaloni’s men have won so much during his tenure as manager, and yesterday evening’s remarkable comeback has proved that the defending champions of the world have zero intention to relinquish their crown. In a match rife with controversy, as all good games seemingly do at this edition of the tournament, Egypt were ten minutes, give or take, from producing one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history by deposing the three-time winners. Yasser Ibrahim put the Egyptians in front within the opening 15 minutes, heading home from a corner put into the box by Marwan Ateya. Egypt’s moment of glory seemed to be crashing towards a premature end, however, as Nicolas Tagliafico was brought down in the box, meaning only one thing; an Argentina penalty. Step up the poster-child for age only being a number, Lionel Messi, who you would expect to score after his incredible heroics thus far this World Cup. Wrong. Messi’s penalty, to the goalkeeper’s left was saved tremendously by keeper Mostafa Ahmed Shobeir. Argentina tried and tried to level proceedings, but at half-time, Egypt still led, and were on course for an iconic victory. The second half seemed to be turning into the stuff of nightmares for the reigning champions; Mostafa Ziko’s incredible solo-run seemed to put Egypt 2-0 up, but in reasons Egypt fans will argue were contentious at the very least, it was disallowed for a foul on Lisandro Martinez, Manchester United centre-back. Ten minutes after that goal was ruled out, it was most definitely the stuff of nightmares for Argentina; they were 2-0 down via Ziko; again. This one would stand, and Scaloni’s men stood on the brink of humiliation, watched by all the world.
What followed was nothing short of sensational, perhaps something out of a fantasy world, but it happened all the same. Argentina were back into the game via Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, who headed into the back of the net from a Messi cross, despite Shobeir’s best efforts to keep it out. Four minutes later, Lionel Messi’s world-beating qualities shone again as he rifled past the keeper, and it was 2-2 in the blink of an eye. You can expect Egyptian tempers were flaring, and they were; no longer the calm and collected team that went 2-0 in front, as Argentina took full control, and a remarkable comeback turned into a remarkable win; Enzo Fernandez’s 93rd minute winner sparked jubilant celebrations from the players, staff and fans. Messi wept at full-time. Not because they were out, far from it, but because they had produced a minor miracle. Two 3-2 wins in a row in the knockout stages have proved that Argentina have the fighting ability to graft out wins, and that they’re not totally dependent on Messi, as some of their other, not as well appreciated stars, shone brightly in Atlanta.
Switzerland V Colombia followed, and to say that it was a riveting watch would be the greatest overstatement ever published. It was a dire game, decided on penalties; Sevilla’s Ruben Vargas sending the Swiss into the World Cup quarter-final for the first time since 1954; although the first knockout round was in fact the quarter-final 72 years ago, and if you’re interested in history, the Swiss lost that game 7-5 to Austria. For the first time this tournament, there’s no football tonight. No time to rest however as the quarter-finals do commence tomorrow, with the re-match of the 2022 semi-final between France and Morocco from 9pm. The World Cup is nearly over, but it has been an absolute thriller. There’s now just eight games left in a tournament, that has fulfilled its role as the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet, but on a more human level, united the globe all over again.
Luke Watson will be keeping us up to date on World Cup 2026
