Coming back from a two-goal deficit, Argentina defeated Egypt in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

Argentina displayed champion mentality as they eliminated Egypt 3-2 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 at Dallas Stadium, early Wednesday WIB. After falling two goals behind, the Albiceleste staged an extraordinary comeback before securing their quarter-final ticket with a winning goal deep into injury time.

Argentina took attacking initiative immediately from kick-off. However, Egypt put up fierce resistance against the defending world champions.

An upset looked on the cards in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim put Egypt ahead with a header from Marwan Attia's cross. The Egyptian defender beat Lisandro Martinez in the aerial duel before firing past Emiliano Martinez.

Argentina responded by ramping up attacking pressure. This push earned them a penalty in the 19th minute after Haissem Hassan fouled Nicolas Tagliafico inside the penalty area.

Lionel Messi stepped up as the penalty taker, but the Argentina captain's shot was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

Far from being deflated by the missed penalty, Argentina only increased their attacking intensity. Alexis Mac Allister came close to scoring in the 28th minute, only to be denied once again by Shobeir. Three minutes later, Messi's free kick struck the goal frame.

Just before half-time, Julian Alvarez's effort was also stopped by Shobeir, leaving Egypt holding their 1-0 lead going into the break.

Argentina continued to dominate possession after the restart. However in the 58th minute, Egypt found the back of Emiliano Martinez's net through Mostafa Zico - though this goal was immediately disallowed after Marwan Attia was judged to have fouled Lisandro Martinez during the build-up.

Egypt finally doubled their lead properly in the 67th minute. Executing a sharp counter-attack, Zico finished Haissem Hassan's pass to extend Egypt's advantage to 2-0.

Trailing by two goals, Argentina pushed forward with even greater aggression. Their fightback began in the 79th minute, when Cristian Romero pulled one back to make it 1-2, converting an assist from Lionel Messi.

Momentum swung completely. Just five minutes later, Messi made amends for his earlier penalty miss with the equaliser. Collecting a perfectly weighted pass from Gonzalo Montiel, La Pulga fired a powerful strike past Shobeir to level the scores at 2-2.

Just as the match appeared set to go to extra time, Argentina completed their remarkable turnaround. Enzo Fernandez scored the winning header from Lautaro Martinez's assist in the 90+3rd minute.

This goal sealed Argentina's 3-2 victory and confirmed their spot in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals.

Starting Lineups

Argentina (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez (GK); Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.

Egypt (4-2-3-1): Oufa Shobeir; Mohamed Hany, Rami Rabia, Ibrahim Yaser, Hafez Karim; Mohanad Lasheen, Marwan Attia; Emam Ashour, Mohamed Salah, Haissem Hassan; Mustafa Zico.