Argentina rallies past Egypt, reaches World Cup quarterfinals

Argentina turned a round-of-16 knockout into a late rescue act at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, rallying from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 and keep its World Cup run alive. The swing came after a match that had looked settled for long stretches, with Egypt leading 2-0 before Argentina’s pressure finally broke through in the closing minutes.

Egypt took command early through Yasser Ibrahim’s 15th-minute header and extended the margin when Mostafa Zizo scored in the 67th minute. Argentina had already lost a major chance to change the match when Lionel Messi saw a penalty saved by goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir, and FIFA noted that Shoubir became only the fourth goalkeeper to save two penalties in separate World Cup games.

The turning point arrived in the final 15 minutes. Cristian Romero pulled Argentina back with a 79th-minute goal, Messi leveled four minutes later, and Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback in stoppage time, scoring in the 90+2 minute. FIFA described Fernandez’s winner as the 3,000th goal in World Cup history, a milestone reached in the kind of knockout-game surge that separates contenders from teams that fade under pressure.

For Egypt, the defeat carried the sting of a lead lost and a path undone. One Egyptian goal was ruled out for a foul in the buildup, and the match slipped away after the hour mark as Argentina kept forcing the issue. What had been a controlled knockout performance from Egypt ended as a reminder that a brief loss of shape or composure can decide a World Cup in a matter of minutes.

Argentina now moves on to face the winner of Switzerland against Colombia in the quarterfinals. ESPN’s schedule lists that quarterfinal in Kansas City on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 8 p.m. local time. The result also closed another chapter in a tournament staged across 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with no host nations left in the field by Monday night after the United States, Mexico and Canada were all eliminated in the round of 16.