Egypt accused Fifa of rigging the World Cup in Argentina’s favour after Lionel Messi inspired the holders to a stunning 3-2 comeback in the last 16.
Coach Hossam Hassan said his nation had been the victims of an “injustice”, while striker Mostafa Zico claimed the competition had been “fixed”.
What happened?
Egypt’s fury centred around two incidents: first a goal they had disallowed owing to a foul in the build-up, then a goal scored by Argentina despite a similar foul.
1. Egypt’s disallowed goal
With the score at 1-0 to Egypt, Zico thought he had doubled the lead with one of the goals of the tournament. He finished off a fine flowing move, following a pass from Mohamed Salah. However, celebrations were cut short when the VAR ruled that there had been a foul 17 seconds before the ball went in the net. The officials ruled that Marwan Attia had stepped on Lisandro Martínez at the opposite end of the pitch. Replays showed contact was minimal.
At the start of the World Cup, referees were told to allow normal football contact to increase tempo in matches.
Egypt, though, did go 2-0 up eventually. Zico smashed in from close range on 67 minutes to put his side in the driving seat, before Argentina came roaring back.
2. Salah penalty shout turned down
Egypt’s anger grew after Enzo Fernández’s winning goal in injury time. They claimed that Salah was fouled in the penalty area before Argentina went up the other end and scored their late winner.
Argentina’s Julián Alvarez made contact with Salah’s boot and he fell in the box. It was a very similar challenge to Attia’s on Martínez, but no foul was given.
As the contact occurred in the box, there is a higher threshold for the VAR to intervene given the possibility of a penalty being awarded. It was deemed there was not enough contact for the referee to take a look at it again
Egypt’s reaction
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition,” Hossam Hassan, Egypt’s head coach, said. “Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.
“We looked better compared to the reigning champions. We were better in everything. The result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors.
“Life is unfair. The world is unfair. Normal life is unfair. Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.
“I am not going to continue following the matches of this World Cup. It is my own way of speaking up and standing up. I am not going to watch a single match of this tournament.”
Hassan also questioned the appointment of French referee, François Letexier.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level. I’m not convinced by this outcome and the way things unfolded in this match.
“We were hard done by [the referee] today, and everyone saw that. I won’t talk about something like this. We were winning 2-0. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us. I don’t even know why the second goal was disallowed, I don’t see any reason for it.”
Zico added: “The referee was not fair. The injustice was clear. We did a good job in the early stages of the match. There’s been an unfairness right from the start of the match. A 2-0 lead isn’t enough to beat Argentina. It is clear this tournament has been fixed.”
“This tournament has been fixed” 😤
Mostafa Zico did NOT hold back after Egypt were kicked out of the World Cup pic.twitter.com/Aqz83U8oir
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Report: Argentina’s spirit prevails
Yes, they have Messi. And yes, they had the referee to thank for a remarkably generous decision in this extraordinary game. But Argentina also have another quality that any World Cup-winning team needs: spirit. A willingness to fight. A refusal to stop. An absolute insistence that this competition belongs to them and that nothing can get in their way.
For the second time in two games, Lionel Scaloni’s players were rattled by inferior opponents. For the second time in two games, they found a path to victory. As it was against Cape Verde, when they won 3-2 in the round of 32, so it was here in Atlanta against Egypt.
It was the latest any team has ever been two goals down in a World Cup and come back to win in normal time.
This World Cup has produced some fabulous knockout matches but this was surely the best of the lot. It had everything: underdogs fighting for their lives, attacking genius, refereeing controversy, genuine spite, late drama. Typically of Argentina’s matches, it also had moments of brilliance from the greatest ever to play the game.
Messi finished this match in floods of tears, unable to control the emotions that had swirled through his body and brain over the course of 90 incredible minutes. He has seen so much in his career but even Messi has experienced few matches quite like this. He sobbed into the arms of his team-mates, knowing how close the end had been.
“He knows how close they came” 🤏🏻
Emotions were rife at full-time after Argentina pulled off one of the greatest-ever World Cup recoveries pic.twitter.com/LQ9TyhrxDn
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
It almost goes without saying that Messi was the player who rescued this match. With 10 minutes remaining, Argentina were trailing by two goals against a brilliantly organised Egypt. Messi created one, for Cristian Romero, and scored another. He then watched from afar as Fernández, the Chelsea midfielder, produced a stunning breakaway goal to win it in the 92nd minute and trigger the wildest celebrations.
Many Argentina fans, with a potential semi-final against England in mind, bounced around and chanted: “Whoever doesn’t jump is English.”
Egypt’s fast start – and Messi’s miss
From the first minute, there was an edge to Egypt’s play. Mohamed Salah and his team-mates had a defined strategy here, and they knew how to execute it. Pre-match expectations of a straightforward Argentina victory were quickly blown apart when Yasser Ibrahim powered home a fabulous header in the 15th minute.
What a ball! ⚽️
Yasser Ibrahim’s ‘perfect’ header sends Egypt ahead early doors against Argentina 😱 pic.twitter.com/JUypcQ6QMr
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
It did not take long for Egypt to demonstrate their defensive strength. Throughout the first half, they shut down the spaces in front of the penalty area and marked Messi with three, and sometimes even four, defenders.
For all this collective organisation, Egypt were still in need of a stellar performance from their goalkeeper, Mostafa Shobeir. In the first half, especially, they got one. Shobeir’s save from Messi’s penalty, after 21 minutes, was further evidence that Egypt had come to fight.
Messi MISSES another penalty 🙅♂️
Egypt’s keeper Mostafa Shobeir throws himself at the ball to stop
Argentina capitalising on a foul on Nicolas Tagliafico 🫨 pic.twitter.com/O3RuRaU5aa— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Messi had also missed from the spot against Austria in the group stage. This second failure therefore made him the first player in World Cup history to miss two penalties at a single tournament. It had been awarded when Nicolás Tagliafico was fouled by Haissem Hassan.
Egypt’s counter-attacking brilliance… and refereeing controversy
Twice in the second half, Egypt produced stunning counter-attacks from deep within their own territory. The first came when Hassan embarked on a surging run down the right flank, driving past two players and feeding Salah. The former Liverpool forward then picked out Zico, who finished in style.
It was one of the finest goals in the tournament, but it did not stand. To Egypt’s disbelief and rage, the goal was ruled out for an innocuous foul on Argentina’s Lisandro Martínez at the other end of the pitch, long before the ball was actually fired into the net.
Perhaps motivated by this sense of injustice, Egypt repeated the trick in astonishing style just a few minutes later. Salah was again involved, as he drove down the centre of the pitch and found Hassan. The low cross was converted, once again, by Zico.
SCENES IN ATLANTA! 🫨
Mostafa Ziko scores on the second time of asking after his first was ruled out by VAR pic.twitter.com/0QH3wwqR3g
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Argentina fight back
Trailing by two goals, Argentina began to bombard the Egyptian penalty area. Messi took full ownership of the situation, moving to the right wing where he could find more space. Time and again, the 39-year-old picked up the ball and drove at the opposition’s defenders.
Eventually, after 79 minutes, he made the difference. His cross found Romero, whose header was too powerful for Shobeir in the Egyptian goal. Argentina were alive again, and the atmosphere inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was electric.
“Boy, are they back in it now”
Argentina aren’t done yet as Cristian Romero gets himself on the scoresheet 😮 pic.twitter.com/pe2fPXAhNb
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
With this level of support in their ears, and with Egypt now beginning to tire, it was with some inevitability that Messi struck the equaliser. As the ball bounced around the penalty area, it was eventually presented to Messi by Gonzalo Montiel. The subsequent shot was so powerful that it smashed through the gloves of Shobeir and bounced into the net off the underside of the crossbar.
Messi saves Argentina! 🇦🇷
And what a goal to make things equal in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/x6EmMoiaF7
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Enzo’s lung-busting winner… and yet more controversy
Argentina now had all the momentum, and they had no intention of settling for extra time. With 92 minutes on the clock, they stopped another Egyptian counter-attack and scorched up the other end of the field.
For once, Messi was not at the centre of this move. It was instead Lautaro Martínez who created the goal, charging down the right wing and playing an immaculate cross towards Fernández. The midfielder’s header, converted on the run, was perfectly directed.
WHAT. A. RECOVERY! 🚨
Enzo Fernández heads Argentina into the lead in stoppage time 👀 pic.twitter.com/zreRbzAsq3
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Egypt were furious. Not only because they were still dismayed by the earlier disallowed goal, but also because they felt they should have had a penalty for a foul on Salah. Replays showed that Argentina’s Julián Alvarez had initially won the ball but also made contact with Salah’s foot inside the box. The contact was remarkably similar to the foul that had been given in Argentina’s favour when Egypt’s second goal was ruled out.
The final whistle triggered frenzied celebrations in the Argentina-dominated stadium in Atlanta and reduced Messi to tears. He had finished the game as the first player since Diego Maradona in 1986 to score, complete five dribbles and create five open-play chances in a World Cup game.
Air Messi 💨😆
The Argentina captain was at the centre of celebrations 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/Kif2fb1UBD
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Quarter-final ties
France vs Morocco, Boston Thursday 9pm
Spain vs Belgium, LA Friday 8pm
Norway vs England, Miami Saturday 10pm
Argentina vs Colombia/Switzerland, Kansas City Sunday 2am
From relief to joy
Messi was in floods of tears at the end of the match
But now he is being tossed into the air by the rest of the squad.
Messi and the gilded cobbler
Full time: Argentina 3 Egypt 2
Egypt will talk about injustice and they have a point about unequal treatment. They were magnificent but Argentina prevailed with a comeback for the ages as Egypt lost their out-ball. Great game.
90+10 min: Argentina 3 Egypt 2
Lautaro Martinez is taking the proverbial with a series of stepovers as he wastes time down the left, challenging an Egypt player to smash him. One has a nibble but that’s it.
90+8 min: Argentina 3 Egypt 2
Now the Egypt manager is booked for dissent and crosses his arms like a West Ham player to protest that.
90+5 min: Argentina 3 Egypt 2
Egypt have gone garrity over that goal. Pointing to a foul on Trezeguet that was similar to the one that chalked off a ‘goal’ Ziko scored, a member of Egypt’s staff was sent off, Shobeir was booked for protesting and Attia for having a hack when play restarted.
GOAL!
Argentina 3 Egypt 2 (Enzo Fernandez) Egypt’s attack breaks down when Salah goes down in the box after his toes were touched by a defender’s. Argentina break quickly with a long diagonal to Lautaro Martinez who swings over the ideal cross. Ibrahim has Fernandez and Gonzalez to deal with and he doesn’t know who to go with, picking Fernandez too late and the Chelsea midfielder rises to loop his header past Shobeir and into the bottom right corner. Egypt are livid because they feel Mac Allister tugged Trezeguet’s shirt during the Egypt attack that was so devastatingly countered in transition.
90 min: Argentina 2 Egypt 2
Egypt break. Four v three but when Marmoush tries to thread Trezeguet through down the left of the penalty box, Paredes slides in to make a vital interception.
89 min: Argentina 2 Egypt 2
Egypt are inviting pressure now. They have only Salah up front and he is only occupying Lisandro Martinez. Hassan was giving them kittens at the back.
87 min: Argentina 2 Egypt 2
Phew! Marmoush comes on for Ziko.
The noise in here is incredible. More late drama at this World Cup. Messi is refusing to go quietly.
GOAL!
Argentina 2 Egypt 2 (Messi) Two goals in four minutes but it could have been two in two had Lautaro Martinez not headed Messi’s handsome cross wide. Back come Argentina and this time Messi is Johnny on the Spot to crash a left-foot half volley in off the bar from 12 yards after some penalty box pinball. That’s his eighth goal of the tournament. It should be 10.
Messi saves Argentina! 🇦🇷
And what a goal to make things equal in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/x6EmMoiaF7
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
80 min: Argentina 1 Egypt 2
This stadium is alive again. That goal has brought belief back to the thousands of Argentina supporters, who had been so subdued after Egypt’s second. This is going to be a brutal bombardment now.
GOAL!
Argentina 1 Egypt 2 (Romero) From the throw-in, Messi arcs over a diagonal cross that Romero meets with a thumping header. Shobeir gets his hands to it but it bursts through. Ibrahim just let Romero go. Dreadful defending II: the sequel.
“Boy, are they back in it now”
Argentina aren’t done yet as Cristian Romero gets himself on the scoresheet 😮 pic.twitter.com/pe2fPXAhNb
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
78 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 2
Argentina corner on the right. Messi doesn’t beat the first man and the ball goes out for a throw-in.
76 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 2
Ziko bends a pass between Lisandro Martinez and Romero for Trezeguet to run on to and gather on the left side of the penalty area. He takes touch that takes him wider and then flays a shot into the side-netting.
75 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 2
Trezeguet comes on for Hassan who has been outstanding.
73 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 2
Correction: De Paul and not Alvarez was withdrawn earlier. Now Montiel replaces Molina.
Second hydration break
Unbelievable. That one will count. Egypt are putting on a counter-attacking clinic here.
GOAL!
Argentina 0 Egypt 2 (Ziko) Justice for Ziko! Salah, who was felt to be a passenger at half-time, takes the ball 20 yards from his goal after Egypt defended the corner, took it 40 yards then bent a pass out to Hassan running down the right. Dreadful defending from Molina and Fernandez allow him to get to the byline as one of them dives in and he cuts it back to Ziko arriving into the box and placing a powerful shot past Emi Martinez. Lisandro Martinez and Romero have resumed their club form. I repeat: dreadful defending. Lisandro Martinez let himself be blindsided by Ziko.
SCENES IN ATLANTA! 🫨
Mostafa Ziko scores on the second time of asking after his first was ruled out by VAR pic.twitter.com/0QH3wwqR3g
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
66 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Ziko heads the ball behind for a corner having lost his bearings in his own box.
Gonzalez and Lautaro Martinez replace Tagliafico and De Paul.
64 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Argentina have Nico Gonzalez and Lautaro Martinez stripped and ready to come on.
63 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Hafez beats Fernandez in the air to head away a Tagliafico cross from the left.
Ruling out that goal, for a challenge as innocuous as that, just feels totally wrong.
61 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Ally McCoist said it was the correct decision which it probably was. I would argue that it is more doubtful that it would have been given had the boot been on the other foot, though.
No goal: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Attia is penalised for fouling Lisandro Matinez in the Egypt right-back position. But everything from then on was glorious, from Hassan’s mazy run, beating four players, his pass to Salah who hared on to it down the inside-right and played a great pass for Ziko to take in his stride and wallop past Emi Martinez from 15 yards with an arrowed shot.
GOAL!?
Argentina 0 Egypt 2 (Ziko) What a terrific goal! But there’s a VAR check for a shirt pull on Lisandro Martinez.
56 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Egypt’s defensive discipline is stifling Argentina who look, as ever, to their saviour.
54 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Fathy wraps his arm round Messi’s neck to stop him running past. Messi pretends he was caught in the mouth. It’s a free-kick, not a booking. For some reason Argentina play it short and allow Egypt to squeeze them out of space.
52 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Salah seems to tackle Paredes legally about 35 yards from the Egypt goal and steals the ball. He had 60 yards of space to run into afterwards but the referee blew for a foul. Not sure he would have been able to run through anyway but he didn’t get the chance. The replay shows it was a foul.He kicked his calf.
50 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Martinez comes over to the right to stop Hassan’s long, meandering run up the right.
48 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Messi receives a pass to the left of the D and uses his velvety touch to trap it and then tee up De Paul to stride on to his horizontal pass and shoot from 18 yards. But Messi’s minder, the Terry McCann of Sarandi, scuffs it, allowing Shobeir to flop on to it, smother it and eat up some seconds.
46 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Ashour hasn’t made it. Egypt replace him with Hamdy Fathy, a defensive midfielder. That makes three holding midfielders. That should mean Ziko playing on the left and Salah through the middle alone.
Ian Wright said at half-time that Salah was a passenger in the first half and should be replaced by Marmoush. I can’t see him playing long as a centre-forward with his tight hamstrings.
Half-time musings
Argentina have created enough chances to be ahead and have looked at their best when using Tagliafico to fly down the left and work De Paul into space on the right. Can’t help feeling that Fernandez would be a better option to make the central midfield runs into the box than Mac Allister. While he hasn’t justified his fee at Chelsea, he is a very good finisher.
Egypt, meanwhile, have played well. They look confident and calm and are giving the Argentina full-backs a hard time.
Mostafa Shobeir is hoping to become only the second Egyptian goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at the World Cup. The previous man to do so was his father, Ahmed, back in 1990 against Ireland. That’s proper family history.
Half-time: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Jon Champion informs us that this is the first time Argentina have been behind at half-time at the World Cup since 2010 when they were ultimately beaten by Mexico 3-1.
Ashour was struggling at the end of that half. Hopefully they can patch him up in 15 minutes.
45+4 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Rabia lands heavily on his back after Alvarez makes one of those centre-forward challenges where he appears to do nothing but where standing still actually creates a formidable obstacle for someone jumping off their feet to collide with. He sends him spinning up into the air before crashing down on his coccyx. The phyiso comes on with some ice. Seems to be just winded thankfully.
45+2 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Paredes fizzes a diagonal from the inside-left channel to the right of the penalty spot. Messi had run off his marker, ducking inside, but his connection with his header is too heavy and Shobeir gathers.
45 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Alvarez has another go at bagging the equaliser after more good work from Tagliafico to beat Hassan and bypass Hany down the left. Messi works the ball to Alvarez who whisks his effort over the bar from the 18-yard line.
Five minutes of stoppage time to come.
This is going to require one of the all-time great defensive performances from Egypt. Their goalkeeper, Mostafa Shobeir, is showing the others how it’s done.
43 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Tagliafico flicks on Messi’s subsequent corner at the near post but there was no one following up at the back stick to apply the required touch.
41 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Terrific save from Shobeir, low to his left. Argentina work the ball out to the left and Tagliafico makes a run into the box for a return pass which he cushions to Alvarez who meets it sweetly with his left foot and hammers a shot from 10 yards that seemed to have goal written all over it. Shobeir had other ideas. Would have been a wonderful goal.
38 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Messi helps De Paul to take the ball off Lasheen but then wraps his left instep around a shot and ends up ballooning it from 20 yards. Did it bobble up? Scaloni was bemoaning the state of the grass earlier.
36 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
That was Messi’s fourth miss from eight World Cup pens and he becomes the first player to miss two, not counting shoot-outs, at a single World Cup.
34 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Hafez picks Messi’s pocket and chances his arm with a 35-yard shot that he slices wildly off target.
32 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Argentina free-kick about 30 yards out. Messi tries to take it quickly but the referee whistles and brings it back. So he lines up a shot and crashes it into the left post having curled it around the wall. The referee initially awards a corner but VAR tells him to reverse his decision as the keeper pulled his hands away when he realised it was hitting the outside of the upright.
29 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Heavy touch by Lisandro Martinez should have let Salah in but he, too, miscontrols and loops it up to Emi Martinez.
27 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Argentina have lacked precision in their passing so far but now Paredes plays De Paul down the right and he whips over a perfect cross to the left of the penalty spot. Mac Allister sprints on to it and meets it unchallenged but heads it straight at Shoebir.
First hydration break
It’s all going on down Argentina’s left. Tagliafico looks vulnerable defensively but has caused problems when pushed high.
Egypt take the lead against Argentina.
This is the first time Argentina have been behind in a World Cup game since their opener in 2022 vs Saudi Arabia. They hadn’t trailed in any of their previous 10 games in the competition coming into today. pic.twitter.com/PnhUEc0uAD
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) July 7, 2026
22 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Shoebir is surrounded by his team-mates, none more grateful, none more relieved than Hassan.
The Egypt supporters are outnumbered here but that penalty save triggered an extraordinary noise. It felt even louder than the celebrations of the opening goal. Extraordinary start to this game.
Saved!
That’s another miss from Messi from the spot, his second of the tournament. It was a rubbish pen, slightly right of centre, about 3ft off the ground. Once the keeper dived the right way it would have been impossible not to save it.
Messi MISSES another penalty 🙅♂️
Egypt’s keeper Mostafa Shobeir throws himself at the ball to stop
Argentina capitalising on a foul on Nicolas Tagliafico 🫨 pic.twitter.com/O3RuRaU5aa— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
Argentina penalty
Hassan trips Tagliafico having switched off, panicked and tried to remedy allowing the left-back to run off him.
17 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 1
Right then. Now we have a proper game on our hands. Egypt had started quite confidently but you wouldn’t say that goal was necessarily coming. It’s a fantastic header, although critics of Lisandro Martinez will say that’s another example of his height (or lack of it) causing problems in defence…
GOAL!
Argentina 0 Egypt 1 (Ibrahim) Lisandro Martinez is caught in no man’s land at the back post. He starts to play offside then hesitates and plays Ibrahim onside who beats him comprehensively in the air to score with a forceful header from Attia’s excellent right-wing cross that bent away from goal. Messi gets up in the referee’s face but there was nothing wrong with the goal.
What a ball! ⚽️
Yasser Ibrahim’s ‘perfect’ header sends Egypt ahead early doors against Argentina 😱 pic.twitter.com/JUypcQ6QMr
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2026
14 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
Hassan has got the beating of Tagliafico and skins him a second time to stand up a cross that goes over Ziko’s head. Argentina only half clear.
13 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
It’s actually Fernandez and not Mac Allister who is lurking largely on the left of midfield with Paredes behind him, De Paul and Mac Allister. It’s like a diamond without a tip as both he and De Paul are tucked in.
11 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
Fernandez misses an absolute sitter from two yards, shanking a right-foot finish at the near post wide of a virtually open goal. To his relief, the flag saves his blushes as Rodrigo De Paul, who waited and waited for him to peel towards the front post, had been about two yards offside when he received Mac Allister’s pass.
8 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
Attia swings in a dangerous looking cross but Lisandro Martinez is first to it and heads it away from goal and over to his right.
6 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
De Paul gives the ball away with a blind pass. Ziko pounces on it and Egypt switch it to their right. Hassan pushes the ball past Tagliafico and was about to sprint past him when the left-back dipped his shoulder to shove him over. Free-kick on the right.
4 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
Ashour, who is playing on the left of a four-man midfield with Hassan on the right and Ziko up front with Salah, is caught flush in the goolies during a tackle and takes a breather on all fours while play continues. Eventually he gets up. Don’t rub ’em, count ’em/
2 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
Chelsea’s Fernandez is OK. Mac Allister breaks into the box down the inside left channel but the ball doesn’t come to him. Tactics from the wide shot show Argentina’s full-backs stationed very high. Messi spears a long pass from inside-right to the left channel out for a goal-kick.
1 min: Argentina 0 Egypt 0
Argentina kick off and, unlike so many of the teams here, take it short, rolling it back to Paredes who strokes it around and back to the keeper. They build up patiently up the left, conceding a throw-in. Enzo Fernandez is hurt when he takes a blow, knee-to-knee, on the side of his as he tried but failed to shield the ball.
But first the national anthems
Himno Nacional Argentino is raucously sung by the four-fifths of the stadium occupied by their fans. Biladi, Biladi, Biladi is greeted enthusiastically but at a far lower volume.
Out come the teams
Mohamed Salah and Alexis Mac Allister enjoyed a warm hug in the tunnel before they walked out. Both teams are in their home shirts, Argentina in blue and white stripes and Egypt in red. Argentina are wearing white shorts and socks, Egypt in black below the waist.
The lad himself
Argentina’s team is effectively 10 players who work and run and sweat and tackle, and one player who waits to be given the ball in dangerous areas. The willingness of the entire team to sacrifice themselves for Messi is extraordinary, and completely unlike anything I have seen before. His team-mates really would do anything for him. At 39, Messi’s body probably needs this protection. And he’s such a genius that he’s undoubtedly worthy of this subservience.
Impressive digs
This is my first time at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and I think it might the one of the best arenas I’ve ever seen. It’s certainly the most impressive stadium I’ve been to at this World Cup (admittedly, I have not attended the spectacular SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles).
Tune!
As has been the case throughout this tournament, Argentina’s supporters are completely outnumbering their opponents. The Argentines travel in serious numbers, and they have a very catchy song that seems to be their equivalent to England’s Wonderwall this summer:
The players are warming up
And now for those of you watching in black and white
Argentina Emi Martínez; Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Tagliafico; De Paul, Paredes, Fernández, Mac Allister; Messi, Alvarez.
Substitutes Musso, Rulli, Senesi, Montiel, Barco, Lo Celso, Palacios, González, Almada, Simeone, Paz, Otamendi, López, Lautaro Martínez, Medina.
Egypt: Shobeir; Hany, Rabia, Ibrahim, Hafez; Ashour, Attia, Lasheen, Ziko; Hassan, Salah.
Substitutes El Shenawy, Soliman, Mohamed Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Fathy, Emad, Adel, Saber, Marmoush, Tarek Alaa, Zizo.
Referee Francois Letexier (France).
They only have eyes for Salah
Egyptian fans chant before the match:
“Nothing else matters to us, we have Salah with us.” 🇪🇬👑 pic.twitter.com/Jb5mxxeYb5
— Salah Updates #WorldCup (@SalahUpdates) July 7, 2026
Betting on the game?
Leo Messi arrives at the stadium
Argentina makes three changes
Nicolás Tagliafico replaces Facundo Medina at left-back, Leandro Paredes is given the nod over Thiago Almada and Julián Alvarez comes in for Lautaro Martínez up front. which suggests that Alexis Mac Allister will play on the left of midfield.
Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez.
Everything is confirmed for today! 🇦🇷🏆🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/Lp7wsy5Dsn
— Selección Argentina in English (@AFASeleccionEN) July 7, 2026
Egypt team news
Hassan makes two changes, recalling Mohanad Lasheen, the defensive midfielder who was suspended for the match against Australia, who replaces Hamdy Fathy, and also brings in Haissem Hassan (Haitham on the team sheet) for the misfiring Omar Marmoush:
Our Starting XI against Argentina in the round of 16 1️⃣1️⃣🇪🇬#egyptnt#FIFAWORLDCUPpic.twitter.com/PGIZkOYZ4C
— Egypt National Team (@EgyptNT_EN) July 7, 2026
After their victory on Friday
Hossam Hassan, the Egypt head coach, carried the Palestine flag on to the field:
Asked why. he said:
If a person anywhere in the world does not feel for the Palestinian people, then they have lost part of their humanity.
What came out of me was simply a human reaction. Before being Arab, Muslim, Christian or anything else, I am a human being. Through football – the world’s soft power – I want to send a message: please let the Palestinian people live. I ask athletes and journalists everywhere to help deliver that message.
When people speak about human rights, animal rights, and justice, we should also speak about Palestinian civilians.
Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan spoke yesterday
We know we are playing against the World Cup holders and one of the greatest players ever, but we do not fear them.
We have a responsibility towards Egypt and the Arab world and Africa. We represent all of them.
That responsibility makes us focus on ourselves and on what we can produce on the field.
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s head coach, speaks to the media
There are no national teams that, as we used to see before the World Cup, were clear favourites. The conditions are also very different from what we had seen in prior editions.
And I understand that most players have played a great deal of matches, and that is a lot of games on the legs. And that is why maybe the level is not the one we are used to seeing.
Beyond the fact that there are four or five main favourites, those teams are not showcasing the football that we would expect before the World Cup.
Argentina’s level is acceptable.
We won the four matches, and I think that is a reason to be satisfied. There are always things that we can fine-tune, even when you win.
This World Cup is difficult. The travel, the heat, the pitches, the grass… sometimes the ball doesn’t move well. There are a lot of factors that make it hard to really show your superiority.
In a match, when things don’t go your way or the opponent is making things difficult, then you can resort to grit, to intensity, to the spirit that we have in our DNA.
And this is something this team has. Then you can play better or worse, but when you can’t play well, you need all of that. Otherwise, you’re out. I am convinced that if we didn’t resort to our character in the last match, we would be out.
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Preview: Raging against the dying of the light
Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of the seventh Round of 16 games, between Egypt and the reigning champions Argentina from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta. Argentina, winners of Group J, were given their sternest test by Cape Verde in the first knockout round last Friday when they were taken to extra time before they could conjure up a winner by virtue of an own goal.
It is fair to point out that they needed extra-time and penalties to beat Holland and France en route to victory four years ago so it is not unusual but their toils, and France’s against Paraguay, should have given England’s critics pause for thought before the Mexico match.
Four years on from winning their third star, Argentina have become an even more hyper-functional side who are formidable at set-pieces and rely on an ageing but not faded genius for their safe-cracking adroitness. Lionel Messi wins his 204th cap tonight and is leading the race for the golden boot alongside Kylian Mbappé amd Erling Haaland with seven.
I’m not sure his partnership with Lautaro Martínez has really clicked in the sense of utilising the Inter striker’s barnstorming, dribbling dexterity but it does allow Messi to shine, which he has done with typical radiance so far.
Egypt, second in Group G, were worthy winners over a frustratingly cautious Australia in the Round of 32 though they needed a shootout to progress. Unlike Messi, Mohamed Salah, who wins his 121st cap, has only dazzled in flickers, most notably with his Panenka penalty that diddled Mat Ryan, the specialist penalty-saver who did not lay a glove on any of the four he faced.
He leads a solid side of mainly home-based players such as the right winger Emam Ashour who has contributed more than the misfiring Man City forward Omar Marmoush.
Both managers may opt for the simplicity of 4-4-2 which they employed successfully for the Round of 16. It cramps their fluidity but also creates a structure which allows their veteran superstars to focus on what they do best rather than expending their energy on tracking runners and maintaining shape.
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