Argentina Complete Stunning Comeback to Beat Egypt 3-2 — Messi Misses Penalty but Redeems Himself With Assist and Goal, Enzo Fernández Nets 92nd-Minute Winner

Argentina came from behind to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, in a match that kicked off at midnight Beijing time on July 8. In the previous round, Argentina had beaten Cape Verde 3-2, while Egypt eliminated Australia 5-3 on penalties.

The winner of this match will face the winner between Switzerland and Colombia in the quarterfinals.

In the first half, Mostafa Mohamed... actually it was Yasser Ibrahim who broke the deadlock with a header, and Nicolás Tagliafico was fouled in the box to win a penalty, which Lionel Messi missed. Egypt led 1-0 at halftime. In the second half, Mostafa Zico had a goal ruled out for a foul in the buildup, but soon after found the net again to extend Egypt's lead. Cristian Romero then pulled one back with a header, Messi leveled the score with a goal of his own, and Enzo Fernández headed home a stoppage-time winner. The match ended 3-2 to Argentina.

Key moments:
In the 15th minute, a cross from Omar Marmoush... actually Mohamed El Shenawy... let me restate: following a cross from Ahmed Abdel Kader, Yasser Ibrahim outjumped Lisandro Martínez to head Egypt into a 1-0 lead.
In the 19th minute, Tagliafico was tripped in the box by Mahmoud Hassan on a recovery run, and the referee awarded a penalty. Messi's spot kick was struck to the goalkeeper's right, but it was saved.
In the 28th minute, a cross from the flank found Alexis Mac Allister, whose close-range header was superbly saved by the Egyptian goalkeeper.
In the 33rd minute, Messi's direct free kick curled around the wall and struck the post before bouncing away.
In the 39th minute, Tagliafico's cutback found the middle of the box, where Julián Álvarez's shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
In the 52nd minute, Mohamed Salah won the ball back and broke through for a one-on-one chance from midfield, but the referee blew for a foul against him.
In the 59th minute, Salah played a ball to the left side of the box, and Mostafa Zico ran through one-on-one to score, but after a VAR review the goal was disallowed for a foul in the buildup.
In the 66th minute, Argentina made a substitution, bringing on Lautaro Martínez and Nicolás González for Rodrigo De Paul and Tagliafico.
In the 67th minute, Salah carried the ball through the middle and released Hassan, who reached the byline and cut the ball back; Mostafa Zico arrived to finish from close range, putting Egypt 2-0 ahead.
In the 79th minute, Messi delivered a cross from out wide, and Cristian Romero headed home to pull Argentina back to 1-2.
In the 82nd minute, Messi drove into the box himself and cut the ball back across goal, where Lautaro Martínez's header narrowly missed the target.
In the 84th minute, Nahuel Molina... actually Gonzalo Montiel squared the ball back to Messi, who fired home to level the score at 2-2.
In the 90+2th minute, assisted by Lautaro Martínez, Enzo Fernández headed home from the center of the box to put Argentina 3-2 ahead.

Argentina starting XI: E. Martínez; Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Tagliafico; De Paul, Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Mac Allister; Messi (C), Álvarez
Argentina substitutes: Musso, Rulli, Senesi, Montiel, Otamendi, Medina, Barco, Lo Celso, Palacios, N. González, Almada, G. Simeone, Paz, López, Lautaro Martínez
Egypt starting XI: Shobeir; Yasser, Hany, Rabia, Hafez; Ashour, Zico, Rashin, Adyaa; Salah (C), Hassan
Egypt substitutes: El Shenawy, Suleiman, M. Ala, Hossam, T. Ala, Fathi, Douga, Sabir, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Adel, Marmoush, Zizo