Coming Back From Two Goals Down, Argentina Beat Egypt in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16

Argentina showed champion mentality as they eliminated Egypt 3-2 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 fixture at Dallas Stadium, early Wednesday WIB. Having fallen two goals behind, the Albiceleste staged an extraordinary comeback before locking their quarter-final ticket with a last-gasp winning goal in stoppage time.

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

The first shock came in the 15th minute, as Yasser Ibrahim put Egypt ahead with a headed finish off Marwan Attia's delivery. The Egyptian defender won the aerial duel against Lisandro Martinez before beating Emiliano Martinez between the posts.

Argentina responded by cranking up offensive pressure. This push earned them a penalty in the 19th minute, after Haissem Hassan brought down Nicolas Tagliafico inside the penalty box.

Lionel Messi stepped forward as the penalty taker. The Argentina captain's shot was however denied by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

The missed penalty only pushed Argentina to raise their attacking intensity. Alexis Mac Allister came close to scoring in the 28th minute, only to be stopped once again by Shobeir. Three minutes later, Messi's free kick struck the goal frame.

Right before halftime, Julian Alvarez's scoring attempt was also saved by Shobeir, leaving Egypt's 1-0 lead intact at the break.

Argentina continued to dominate ball possession as the second half commenced. However in the 58th minute it was Egypt who found Emiliano Martinez's net through Mostafa Zico, though this goal was disallowed as Marwan Attia had committed a foul against Lisandro Martinez during the build-up.

Egypt finally doubled their advantage in the 67th minute. Running a sharp counter-attack, Zico finished off Haissem Hassan's pass to put Egypt 2-0 ahead.

Trailing by two goals, Argentina shifted to even more aggressive play. Their fightback began in the 79th minute, when Cristian Romero pulled one back to make it 1-2, with the centre-back converting Lionel Messi's assist.

Momentum flipped entirely. Just five minutes later, Messi redeemed his earlier penalty miss with the equaliser. Receiving a perfectly weighted pass from Gonzalo Montiel, La Pulga fired a powerful strike past Shobeir to level the score at 2-2.

Just as the match looked headed for extra time, Argentina completed their dramatic comeback. Enzo Fernandez scored the winning goal with a header off 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.