Argentina captain and record-breaking Lionel Messi was left visibly emotional after a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt to end the African giants’ dream and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Trailing 2-0 with just over ten minutes left, Argentina looked headed for a stunning exit.
Instead, Messi turned back the clock one more time, setting up Cristian Romero’s goal before scoring the equaliser and Enzo Fernández completed the comeback in stoppage time; 3-2, and a place in the last-eight secured.
Messi admitted the missed first-half penalty weighed on him: “It was a relief for everybody. I was very upset with the missed penalty. If I had made the penalty, the dynamic of the game would have been different.”
“Cuti [Romero] changed everything. There, we felt we were going to do it, that we were going to tie it – but luckily, we didn’t need to go to extra time.
“Today, what the group did was crazy. To come back from 2-0 in a World Cup knockout game. Nobody gives you anything. This group showed again that it competes, never puts its arms down.”
On the emotion at the final whistle: Visibly in tears, Messi spoke about what the support means to him.
“I’ve said it many times; I appreciate the love of the entire world that I already received, even more when it’s from colleagues… I’m happy, proud to compete next to this group.”
Did you know that the iDiski Times Digital Newspaper is completely free! Download it now by clicking the button below or fill in the form to have it sent to you every week.
