Argentina snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with an astonishing comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the last-16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Egypt marched into a surprise lead after 15 minutes when veteran defender Yasser Ibrahim got the better of Lisandro Martinez in the penalty area to head Marwan Attia's sublime cross beyond Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina had an opportunity to restore parity almost immediately as Nicolas Tagliafico was fouled by Haissem Hassan in the penalty area, but Lionel Messi's spot-kick was saved by an inspired Mostafa Shobeir.
Shobeir kept Argentina at bay with a raft of excellent saves, including an incredible reflex stop to thwart Julian Alvarez, and the defending champions appeared short on ideas with an hour on the clock.
Their woes were compounded in the 67th minute as a blistering Egypt counter-attack saw Hassan play a ball across the six-yard box and Mostafa Ziko finished emphatically beyond Martinez.
Staring at elimination, Lionel Scaloni's Argentina demonstrated the qualities that catapulted them to World Cup glory four years and Messi weaved his magic wand to haul La Albiceleste back into contention.
His inviting cross was nodded home by Cristian Romero, and Messi restored parity just four minutes later with a textbook half-volley that stung the palm of Shobeir and rattled the underside of the crossbar.
The game remarkably opened up in the closing stages with both sides eager to find a winner as extra-time loomed, and Egypt were punished for committing too many bodies forward. Argentina countered through Lautaro Martinez, who found Enzo Fernandez with a divine cross and the Chelsea midfielder produced a cushioned header into the far corner to complete the comeback and send Egypt packing.
Take a look at our player ratings and match stats below.
Argentina Player Ratings
- Emi Martinez - 6
- Nahuel Molina - 6
- Cristian Romero - 7
- Lisandro Martinez - 7
- Nicolas Tagliafico - 6
- Leandro Paredes - 7
- Rodrigo De Paul - 7
- Alexis Mac Allister - 6
- Enzo Fernandez - 8
- Lionel Messi - 8
- Julian Alvarez - 6
Substitutes:
- Nicolas Gonzalez - 6
- Lautaro Martinez - 7
- Gonzalo Montiel - 6
- Nicolas Otamendi - N/A
- Facundo Medina - N/A
Argentina v Egypt Match Stats
Argentina | Egypt | |
64% | Possession | 36% |
2.80 | Expected Goals | 0.98 |
19 | Shots | 5 |
7 | Shots on Target | 2 |
0 | Goalkeeper Saves | 4 |
6 | Corners | 1 |
602 | Total Passes | 349 |
90% | Pass Accuracy | 83% |
20 | Tackles | 15 |
14 | Clearances | 43 |
0 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
Argentina v Egypt Timeline
15' - Goal Egypt! Scored by Yasser Ibrahim, assisted by Marwan Attia.
21' - Missed penalty. Lionel Messi.
58' - Goal disallowed, Egypt. Ziko.
67' - Goal Egypt! Scored by Mostafa Ziko, assisted by Haissem Hassan.
79' - Goal Argentina! Scored by Cristian Romero, assisted by Lionel Messi.
83' - Goal Argentina! Scored by Lionel Messi, assisted by Gonzalo Montiel.
90+2' - Goal Argentina! Scored by Enzo Fernandez, assisted by Lautaro Martinez.
90+3' - Yellow card for Mostafa Shobeir.
90+4' - Yellow card for Hamdi Fathy.
90+8' - Yellow card for Marwan Attia.
