Lionel Messi was left in tears after helping inspire Argentina to a dramatic comeback win over Egypt and book their place in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals.
While Cristiano Ronaldo was crying as he exited the World Cup stage for likely the final time following Portugal’s late 1-0 loss to Spain last night, 24 hours later his great rival Messi was shedding tears of pure relief.
Reigning champions Argentina looked set for a shock exit at the hands of a valiant Egypt team as they trailed 2-0 with just 11 minutes left to play in Atlanta.
However, the South Americans showed a champions’ resolve as Cristian Romero headed them back into it on 79 minutes before Messi – who had missed a first-half penalty to become the first player in World Cup history to miss two spot-kicks, excluding shootouts, at the same tournament – half-volleyed the equaliser four minutes later.
And, with extra time looming, Enzo Fernandez stepped up to head home Lautaro Martinez’s sumptuous back-post cross in injury time, as his sad narrowly escaped World Cup disaster.
It means a clash with either Switzerland or South American rivals Colombia, who meet in the final last-16 clash later this evening, now awaits.
And Messi couldn’t hide his emotion following the win, bursting into tears as Argentina celebrated on the pitch before his teammates threw him up in the air in a manner not dissimilar to ‘birthday bumps’ from playgrounds around the world.
“He’s getting that emotional, in a game they were sound favourites, it’s an indestructible spirit,” said pundit Gary Neville on ITV after the match.
“They’re getting over the hill, they’re so wedded to their badge, it’s difficult to compete with that energy.”
And even the normally cynical Roy Keane was delighted to see the remarkable comeback.
“My voice is gone. I loved it,” said Keane, also on ITV. “Yesterday we saw sad tears from Ronaldo. Today we see happy tears from Messi.
“They will not give up. The quality of their goals were amazing. Wow. This is why we love the game. Absolutely amazing.”
In helping inspire the turnaround, Messi made more history as he became the first player to score in six consecutive knockout stage matches.
He also now has 13 goals and three assists in his last nine World Cup matches, as his failure in the 2014 World Cup final feels like a distant memory.
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