Argentina were 2-0 down and facing elimination with 11 minutes of normal time remaining. They left the pitch having scored three times in those 11 minutes, with the winner coming in the second minute of stoppage time. Lionel Messi scored his 8th goal of the 2026 World Cup and now leads the Golden Boot race. The defending champions are in the quarter-finals.
This Argentina World Cup 2026 quarter-final spot did not come easily. For 79 minutes on Tuesday, Egypt had this match under control. They deserved their lead.
How Egypt Built It
Ibrahim put Egypt ahead in the 15th minute, getting goal-side of Lisandro Martínez to head home Marwan Attia’s cross. The Argentina defence was caught flat, and Egypt kept their shape well after the goal, not inviting pressure.
It stayed 1-0 into the second half. Egypt doubled it in the 67th minute. Zico scored from the right after Hassan did the work on the flank. The goal felt, at that moment, like a result-setter. Argentina had Messi, but Messi had already been stopped from the spot in the first half: goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved his penalty, and the chance had gone.
With 11 minutes left and two goals to find, Argentina’s tournament looked over.
The Comeback
Romero pulled one back in the 79th minute, heading in from Messi’s cross. One goal back. Then Messi himself, four minutes later, pounced on a loose ball in the box and slammed it home. Level at 2-2 with less than 10 minutes of normal time left.
In the second minute of added time, Fernandez settled it. He made a lung-busting run into the box and headed Lautaro Martinez’s cross into the top corner. Argentina 3-2. Full time.
The three goals came in 11 minutes of the most compressed pressure in this World Cup so far. From 2-0 down, Argentina did not change their plan. They found their moments.
What It Means
Messi’s goal was his eighth of this tournament. No player in the competition has scored more. He now leads the Golden Boot race. At 39, in what is almost certainly his final World Cup, the numbers from this tournament have been consistent throughout. The goal against Egypt, an opportunistic finish from a loose ball in the box, showed why he remains the decisive presence in this Argentina side even when he is not at his most elegant.
Egypt leave the tournament with their heads up. They were 11 minutes from one of the great World Cup upsets. They led 2-0. They controlled 79 minutes of a knockout match against the defending world champions. The R16 exit will sting, but what they produced for those 79 minutes showed genuine quality.
Argentina are through to the World Cup quarter-finals. The defending champions survive. Whether they can keep producing these last-minute rescues as the rounds get harder is the defining question of their tournament from here.
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