Two goals down. Eighty minutes gone. Defending champions. Against Egypt. In Atlanta. And Lionel Messi, thirty-nine years old, coming off a missed penalty, having had his worst forty minutes of this entire tournament, decided that wasn’t how this story was going to end. It didn’t. Argentina won 3-2. Messi aided the first comeback goal, counted the equalizer with a thunderous strike from outdoor the box that went in off the goalkeeper’s gloves and the crossbar, and Enzo Fernández finished it in the 92nd minute.
Down 2-0 and Looking Gone, Then Messi Happened
The first eighty minutes in Atlanta were genuinely awful for Argentina. Egypt defended with extraordinary discipline. Mostafa Sober had the game of his life in goal, saving all that came at him, counting a first-half Messi price that made him the first player ever to miss two prices in a single World Cup edition, and the Albiceleste looked slow, detached, and completely out of ideas. The stadium was buzzing with the energy of a potential historic upset.
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And then Cristian Romero ruled home from Messi’s assist in the 79th minute. One goal back. Abruptly, the whole heaven changed. And six minutes later, Messi picked the ball up outdoor the penalty area, took one touch to set himself, and hit it. Hard. The shot bounced off Shobeir’s gloves, hit the base of the crossbar, and went in. Messi ran to the corner flag with the look of a man who’d been to come all game for that exact moment. The stadium lost its mind.
The Numbers Behind the Most Remarkable World Cup Individual in History
Here’s where it gets statistically staggering. Messi’s equalizer beside Egypt was his 21st World Cup goal, spreading his own all-time record, which he’d previously broken earlier in this contest. He’s now the first player in past to score in nine successive World Cup matches. He’s the first player ever to score in six succeeding knockout-stage matches. And he drew level with Guillermo Stabile’s Argentina record of eight goals in a single World Cup edition, set in 1930, a mark that had stood for ninety-six years. Click to read more about Football World Cup Tickets.
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And he did all of that in the same match where he missed a penalty and spent the first hour looking like the game had passed him by. That’s the part that’s almost impossible to process. Messi at thirty-nine, struggling, invisible, then suddenly decisive in the final ten minutes of a World Cup knockout match. Other players have great tournament performances. Messi produces great tournament moments from situations where other players have already given up.
Alvarez, Fernandez, and the Team Loud Messi While He Carries Them
Because the Argentina floor at this World Cup isn’t just about one man, even if that one man keeps being the one who crops the moments that matter. Alvarez’s run that created the space for Lautaro Martinez’s cross before Enzo’s winner. Romero’s header to start the comeback. Enzo’s composure in the 92nd minute to finish it. These are players performing at the highest level in the highest-pressure situations.
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And yet Alvarez, who finished as co-top scorer at the 2022 World Cup, who’s been excellent throughout this tournament, who costs Atletico Madrid the kind of money that makes headlines globally, stood after the Egypt match and talked almost exclusively about Messi. Not in the way players sometimes do to deflect attention. Genuinely. With the kind of wonder that you only get from someone who watches something extraordinary happen up close and still can’t quite believe what they’re seeing.
Messi’s World Cup Brilliance Powers Argentina Toward Quarterfinal Glory
Argentina face Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Messi has twenty-one World Cup goals and is still going. The GOAT debate ended long ago in the minds of most serious football people. Against Egypt, he produced one more piece of evidence for anyone who still needed it.
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And when Julian Alvarez stood in front of the post-match cameras and tried to describe what he’d just witnessed from up close, he ran out of adequate language almost immediately. “Leo, honestly, there aren’t many words left to describe. The World Cup he’s having is impressive. He’s a legend, the best player in the world and in history.” That’s his teammate saying that. Someone who trains with him every day.
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