One of football’s eternal truths? You can never, ever rule out Lionel Messi. Precisely when it seemed his ambition of steering Argentina to a second straight world title lay in ruins, the 39-year-old once again delivered a breathtaking rescue act for his nation.
With just 11 minutes remaining and still shell‑shocked by Yasser Ibrahim’s early header and a second from Mostafa Ziko – named after the Brazilian icon – Lionel Scaloni’s men were stumbling towards a colossal shock against Egypt. Mostafa Shobair, whose father Ahmed kept goal for the Pharaohs at the 1990 World Cup and whose gamesmanship against the Republic of Ireland prompted the introduction of the back‑pass law two years later, appeared destined to craft a far brighter chapter in his family story after a superb display in which he repelled everything the world champions threw at him.
Messi, who was in tears at the final whistle, had earlier become the first player at a World Cup to fail twice from the penalty spot in the same tournament, yet there would be no keeping him out here. An assist for Cristian Romero threw Argentina a lifeline before he stretched his World Cup record to 21 goals with the leveller eight minutes from time. This was billed as a duel of the two No 10s and it was a cruel twist that Mohamed Salah was guilty of surrendering possession in the move that culminated in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández heading the winner from Lautaro Martínez’s cross. Egypt were incensed, convinced they had been fouled during the build‑up, but there was no way back.
Scaloni had promised his side was “on high alert” after their narrow escape against Cape Verde in the previous round and he made three changes from the extra‑time victory in Miami. That included a recall for Julián Alvarez in attack at Lautaro Martínez’s expense, while Egypt made two alterations following their historic penalty shootout win over Australia but boldly mirrored their opponents’ 4‑4‑2 shape as Haissem Hassan was preferred to Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush.
Hossam Hassan’s team arrived in the United States having never won a World Cup finals match in three prior appearances, including a first‑round exit in 1934. After finally breaking that hex, the seven‑time African champions were intent on being more than mere participants and they made the ideal start.
Leandro Paredes had to be sharp to clear an early dangerous free‑kick from Marwan Attia. But Argentina failed to take the hint. Mohamed Hany earned a corner in the 15th minute and Attia’s delivery was met by a thumping Ibrahim header before he raced away almost in disbelief, sparking wild scenes on the Egypt bench.
They were gifted another opening when Hassan brought down Nicolas Tagliafico inside the box and the French referee pointed straight to the spot. Not for the first time, however, Messi could not capitalise as his weak effort was expertly saved by Shobair. He may be one of the all‑time greats yet a 50% conversion rate from the penalty mark at World Cups is nothing to boast about.
Shobair – who has established himself as first choice ahead of veteran Mohamed El Shenawy only in recent months after shining for his club, Al Ahly – then pulled off a point‑blank stop from Alexis Mac Allister as Argentina’s frustrations grew. A curling Messi free‑kick clipped the outside of a post before Shobair somehow kept out a close‑range effort from Alvarez after he was teed up by Tagliafico. The Atlético Madrid striker looked stunned. Remarkably, it was the first time Argentina had been behind at half‑time of a World Cup match since the 4‑0 mauling against Germany in the 2010 quarter‑finals.
Yet they showed scant improvement after the interval. To Scaloni’s relief, the video assistant referee disallowed a brilliant breakaway goal from Ziko early in the second half after a superb left‑flank surge by Hossan and an inch‑perfect ball from Salah. Replays showed that Attia had tugged Lisandro Martínez’s shirt almost 30 seconds earlier in the buildup. But Egypt could not be held off for long and Hossan left Nahuel Molina for dead before cutting the ball back for Ziko to fire past Emi Martínez.
Suddenly Argentina were staring straight down the barrel of defeat. Inevitably, it fell to Messi to save them and Romero made no mistake from his pinpoint cross to halve the deficit. The roar that met that goal was nothing compared to his equaliser four minutes later. Egypt failed to clear their lines and when the ball dropped to Messi there was only ever going to be one outcome, even if Shobair got both gloves to the shot but could not keep it out. Even more drama was still to come.
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