FIFA 2026 | 'It's difficult to come back from 2-0 down': Messi reacts after Argentina's thrilling win over Egypt in WC R16
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "FIFA 2026 | 'It's difficult to come back from 2-0 down': Messi reacts after Argentina's thrilling win over Egypt in WC R16")
Argentina's forward Lionel Messi is lifted by teammates Photograph: (AFP)
Messi revealed Argentina feared an early exit after going 2-0 down, but a comeback led by Cristian Romero's goal helped them beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the World Cup 2026 quarterfinals.
Captain Lionel Messi said that Argentina feared they were heading out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after falling 2-0 behind against Egypt, but Cristian Romero’s goal gave the team fresh hope as they fought back to win 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals on Tuesday. Speaking after the Round of 16 victory, Messi admitted that the situation looked very difficult when Egypt doubled their lead.
"When they went 2-0 up, I really saw it as being bad, and it was... it was difficult. That's why I think there was that bit of release and relief for everyone, right? Because we turned around an incredible match," Messi told the host broadcasters after Argentina's Round of 16 victory.
The Argentina captain explained that Romero’s goal completely changed the team’s mindset. He said the players believed they could still equalise and had enough time to win the match.
"Like I just said, it's difficult to come back from 2-0 down, especially in this type of knockout round. But like I'm telling you, when we scored Cuti's (Romero) goal, I think we all internally felt that we were going to do it, that we were going to tie it, that we had the time, and that we still had extra time left. And thank God, we were able to do it before extra time, which is even more impressive," he said.
Egypt made a strong start, taking the lead in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim headed in a corner from Marwan Attia.
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Argentina had a chance to equalise soon after when Nicolas Tagliafico won a penalty, but Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved Messi’s spot-kick. Shobeir also denied Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez, while Messi hit the crossbar with a free-kick as Egypt went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Egypt thought they had scored again early in the second half, but Mostafa Ziko’s goal was ruled out after a VAR review. However, Ziko found the net in the 67th minute, finishing a quick counterattack created by Mohamed Salah and Haissem Hassan to put Egypt 2-0 ahead.
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Argentina's forward Lionel Messi is lifted by teammates Photograph: (AFP)
Argentina began their comeback in the 79th minute when Cristian Romero headed home Messi’s free-kick. Just four minutes later, Messi equalised with a powerful shot from outside the box that went in after touching the goalkeeper’s gloves and the underside of the crossbar.
With the match heading towards extra time, Enzo Fernandez scored the winner in stoppage time. He collected a loose ball near the penalty area and calmly placed his shot into the bottom corner to complete Argentina’s dramatic comeback.
Argentina’s 3-2 victory booked their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals, where they will take on Switzerland on July 8 (IST).
With inputs from agencies
