FIFA World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi's magic beats Argentina, Egypt in the quarter-finals

FIFA World Cup 2026:    Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 to enter the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Argentina turned the tide in the final minutes. Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentine players performed brilliantly in the final minutes. Mohamed Salah's Egyptian team once held the breath of Argentina fans but failed to reach the last-8

Argentina last faced elimination before the quarter-finals in 2018. Egypt also beat Messi's team at the 2026 World Cup, but it was the talents of Lionel Messi, Cristian Romero and Enzo Fernandes that led Argentina back into the match.

Argentina pull it back late to secure their spot in the last eight! 👏#FIFAWorldCup

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 7, 2026

Argentina's miraculous victory

The first goal of the match came from Egypt when Yasir Ibrahim gave his team a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. Mustafa Ziko scored the second goal in the 67th minute to give Egypt a 2-0 lead. By the 78th minute, Egypt were 2-0 ahead. It is very difficult to score in a high-pressure match like the World Cup, but Cristian Romero revived Argentina's hopes by scoring in the 79th minute.

Four minutes later, Lionel Messi scored his 21st goal in the World Cup. However, Messi missed a penalty in the 19th minute of the same match. The atmosphere at that time was such that the entire stadium was stunned. The match was tied 2-2 at full-time. After extra time, Enzo Fernandes scored Argentina's third and decisive goal in the 93rd minute

Also Read: FIFA Highest Goal: Top-5 Players Who Scored Most Goals in FIFA 2026, Ronaldo is not even in the top-20 on the list

Argentina advanced to their second consecutive trophy

Argentina entered the FIFA World Cup 2026 as the defending champions. Messi's team is now just four wins away from their second consecutive title. Argentina became the seventh team to reach the quarterfinals. Earlier, France, Morocco, Spain, Belgium, England and Norway had already secured their place in the Round of 8. Argentina will now face the winner of the Round of 16 match between Switzerland and Colombia in the quarterfinals

Argentina have a 5-0-0 record ahead of the 2026 World Cup and are trying to become the third country after Italy and Brazil to win two consecutive World Cups. Argentina have reached the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time in a row, all of which have come during Messi's career. After reaching the quarterfinals, Argentina will now face the winner of the match between Colombia and Switzerland on July 11 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.