Argentina beats Egypt to advance to 2026 World Cup quarterfinals

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Argentina national football team secured a 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt in their Round of 16 match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals. The highly competitive encounter took place at the Atlanta Stadium.

Egypt opened the scoring in the 15th minute through a goal by Yasser Ibrahim. In the second half, the Pharaohs extended their advantage when Mostafa Ziko scored in the 67th minute, putting the reigning world champions under immense pressure.

However, the Argentine squad managed to turn the match around late in the final period. Cristian Romero trimmed the deficit with a header in the 79th minute. Just four minutes later, in the 83rd minute, Lionel Messi found the back of the net to equalize. The decisive game-winning goal came during stoppage time in the 90+3rd minute, courtesy of Enzo Fernández.

During the match, Messi set a new milestone for the most assists in World Cup history. His decisive pass against Egypt marked his ninth career assist at the global tournament, surpassing the previous benchmark held by Diego Maradona since detailed assist tracking began in 1966.

Additionally, the Argentine captain set a personal record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament. His goal against Egypt was his eighth of the 2026 campaign, eclipsing his previous personal best of seven goals achieved during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In their previous knockout stage match on 4 July, Argentina defeated Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time. While the match-winning goal was initially credited to Cristian Romero from a Messi pass, world football's governing body, FIFA, later revised the official match report to register the point as an own goal.

In the upcoming quarterfinals, Argentina will face the winner of the Round of 16 clash between Switzerland and Colombia. The quarterfinal fixture involving the Argentine national team is scheduled to take place in Kansas City.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being co-hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Featuring an expanded format with 48 national teams for the first time in history, the tournament is scheduled to conclude with the final match on 19 July.