On Tuesday night, Argentina overturned Egypt in a nail-biting round of 16 match, winning 3-2 after trailing and being under pressure for much of the game. The Albiceleste staged a dramatic finish to avoid elimination, with Cristian Romero scoring three goals in the final quarter of an hour. Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez.
Egypt opened the scoring in the 15th minute through Yasser Ibrahim, before regaining the lead in the 67th minute thanks to Mostafa Ziko. In between, Lionel Messi missed a penalty, saved by Shobeir, and an Egyptian goal was disallowed after a VAR review. A significant decision in the course of the match.
Ibrahim silenced Argentina within the first fifteen minutes of the game.
Egypt strikes first. In the 15th minute, from a corner taken on the right, Ashour holds up the ball, draws two Argentine defenders, and finds Attia with a cutback. The cross reaches Ibrahim, who rises at the far post and heads it across goal. Martinez is beaten. Egypt leads 1-0. Argentina responds quickly. In the 19th minute, Tagliafico is played through on the left side of the box. He arrives before Hassan, receives the contact, and goes down. François Letexier points to the penalty spot.
Messi misses a penalty, Shobeir keeps Egypt ahead
In the 21st minute, Lionel Messi took responsibility. The Argentine captain struck a powerful, angled shot, but Shobeir dived the right way and made the save. The penalty wasn't placed high enough to beat the Egyptian goalkeeper. Argentina then pressed forward, but lacked precision in the final third. In the 39th minute, Paredes played a long ball to Tagliafico, who laid it back for Alvarez. The striker's shot across goal was quickly deflected by Shobeir, who dived and pushed it behind for a corner. Egypt remained ahead at halftime, 1-0.
VAR cancels Egypt's second goal.
Upon returning from the locker room, Egypt thought they had struck a decisive blow. In the 58th minute, Ziko scored on the counter-attack. Hassan surged down the left flank, passed to Salah in the center, and the move culminated in a through ball to Ziko, who beat Martinez with a first-time finish. But the Egyptian joy was cut short. François Letexier was consulted by VAR and reviewed the play, finding a foul by Attia as he won the ball back near the Egyptian corner flag. The goal was very harshly disallowed. Egypt remained at 1-0 instead of leading 2-0. This decision had a significant impact. Argentina remained in contention in a match where they had already been awarded a penalty in the first half.
Ziko scores anyway, Egypt regains a two-goal lead
In the 67th minute, Egypt launched a counter-attack after an Argentinian corner. Salah played the ball to Hassan on the right wing. The full-back did some excellent work in the box and crossed to Ziko. The striker won his duel, volleyed home with his right foot. This time, there was no VAR. Egypt led 2-0. At that point, Argentina were on the brink of disaster. But the game turned in the final ten minutes.
Romero gives Argentina a lifeline, Messi equalizes immediately.
In the 79th minute, Messi crossed from the right. Romero appeared between two center-backs and headed the ball past Shobeir, despite a save from the goalkeeper. Argentina pulled it back to 2-1. Four minutes later, Messi leveled the score again. In the 83rd minute, the Argentine captain pounced on a loose ball in the box and volleyed home. Argentina had come from behind to make it 2-2.
Enzo Fernandez snatches qualification in stoppage time
In stoppage time, Argentina overtook Egypt for the first time in the match. In the 92nd minute, Lautaro Martinez was played in down the right wing. He crossed to Enzo Fernandez, who headed the ball across goal. Argentina led 3-2.
The score remains unchanged. Egypt exits with immense regret, having taken the lead, scored a disallowed goal, and then collapsed in the final minutes. Argentina continues its journey, but its qualification will be remembered for a questionable refereeing decision and an extremely favorable turn of events at the end of the match.
