The referee blew the final whistle! Egypt had come agonizingly close to one of the great upsets in World Cup history. Instead, football witnessed an epic Argentine comeback. For the first time in World Cup history, the Albiceleste won a match after trailing by two goals. Lionel Messi broke down in tears at the final whistle — not from sorrow, but joy. Having missed a penalty in the first half that piled pressure on his team, he made amends in the second half, scoring and assisting within just 4 minutes 18 seconds to level the match himself. The Argentina camp is now awash in relief and celebration, keeping alive their dream of back-to-back titles and a fourth World Cup. Mohamed Salah and his teammates, meanwhile, stared blankly into the distance after the final whistle. Having fought heroically throughout, such a defeat was hard to accept. But Egypt left the pitch with heads held high — they made no errors of their own. They simply lost to a superhuman footballing magician.
Earlier, the Egyptian camp lost its composure in stoppage time amid fears of conceding the winner. They claimed Mac Allister had pulled down Egypt’s Fathi inside his own box just before Argentina’s counterattack led to a goal. Amid the fierce protests that followed, goalkeeper Shobeir received a yellow card, and an Egyptian staff member who entered the pitch was shown red. Fathi and Attia were also booked for fouling Mac Allister in the ensuing protest. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, incensed, was also booked after words with the referee. Late substitutes Otamendi and Medina had come on, and Lautaro Martinez got into a heated exchange with Attia while running down the clock near the corner flag.
Goal! Argentina took the lead in unbelievable late drama! Another superb cross came in from the right into Egypt’s box. Enzo Fernandez rose to meet it with a perfect header into the top-right corner. Goalkeeper Shobeir had no chance. Having trailed by two goals, the Albiceleste completed an incredible comeback with this stunning stoppage-time strike.
83rd minute: Argentina 2-2 Egypt
Goal! Argentina level — Lionel Messi magic! Messi’s cross from the right wasn’t properly cleared by Egypt’s defense. Lautaro Martinez knocked the ball back into the box from the left. Julian Alvarez cushioned it with his chest, setting it up for Messi. Without wasting a moment on the dropping ball, Messi found the net with a precise strike. The Egyptian goalkeeper had no answer this time. With two goals in four minutes, the Albiceleste staged a stunning comeback.
79th minute: Argentina 1-2 Egypt
Goal! Romero’s header narrows the gap for Argentina. Messi delivered a pinpoint cross from the right into the box, where a completely unmarked Cristian Romero headed home from just six yards. Egyptian goalkeeper Shobeir got a hand to it but could not stop it. The goal signaled the defending champions’ intent to fight back.
67th minute: Argentina 0-2 Egypt
Goal! No mistake this time. Zizo doubles Egypt’s lead! Mohamed Salah picked up the pace on the counter after winning the ball from an Argentine corner. He beat Cristian Romero and passed to Hassan on the right. Hassan outpaced Nahuel Molina and delivered a superb cutback from the byline. Zizo, lurking at the far post, buried it from six yards with a rocket of a shot. Egypt was now genuinely on the verge of a massive World Cup upset.
58th minute: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
Goal disallowed! Argentina was saved by VAR intervention. Egypt had celebrated a brilliant counterattacking goal, but moments before it, Attia had fouled Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez by pulling his shirt in Egypt’s own half. On VAR review, the referee disallowed the goal for the foul and awarded Argentina a free kick. The decision was correct, but a heartbreaking one for Egypt.
Half-time: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
The two teams went into the break at Atlanta Stadium with a major upset brewing. For Egypt, who had never previously won a World Cup match, it was a dream first half. Three-time champions and defending champions Argentina, meanwhile, trailed by a goal. The Albiceleste weren’t panicking yet, but needed a significant tactical shift in the second half to regain control.
Argentina pushed desperately for an equalizer late in the first half, but under tight Egyptian marking near their own box, Scaloni’s side managed only offside calls. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir’s string of brilliant saves left Messi and Julian Alvarez stunned. Even Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, watching from the stands, thought Alvarez’s shot was a certain goal. But Shobeir’s world-class save silenced everyone. Egypt held its defensive discipline through five added minutes at the end of the half.
40th minute: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
A long pass found Tagliafico on the left. He managed to reach it and squared the ball to Julian Alvarez in the middle of the box. Alvarez turned his body and struck a powerful side-foot shot toward the bottom-right corner. It looked like a picture-perfect goal. But Egyptian goalkeeper Shobeir flung his entire body and, with one hand, pushed the ball wide of the post — another remarkable save that frustrated Argentina.
29th minute: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
Argentina’s attacking tempo increased. Rodrigo De Paul delivered an excellent cross from the right into the box. Alexis Mac Allister headed it from just six yards out, but it was blocked by Egyptian defenders. Enzo Fernandez then struck a powerful shot on the rebound from the edge of the box, but that too was blocked by Egypt’s defense.
21st minute: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
Messi’s penalty miss! After his usual pre-penalty routine, Messi’s shot was saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Shobeir. Messi aimed for the bottom-right corner, but the shot lacked sufficient pace. Anticipating its direction perfectly, Shobeir made a brilliant save at a comfortable height for a goalkeeper. Argentina failed to level from the spot.
15th minute: Argentina 0-1 Egypt
Goal! Egypt takes the lead with a stunning header from Ibrahim. Hany won the match’s first corner after putting Lisandro Martinez under pressure on the right. From the resulting corner, Attia delivered a cross into the box from the wing. Ibrahim, evading Lisandro Martinez, slipped almost unnoticed into the box and headed the ball into the net with a beautiful finish. As the ball found the top-right corner, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez could do nothing but watch.
7th minute: Argentina 0-0 Egypt
Egypt’s Hassan won a free kick after good work on the right. Attia delivered the free kick into the box, but it went past Argentina’s goal without finding a teammate. With no Egyptian player there to connect, the Albiceleste escaped unscathed.
Kickoff
The battle begins.
Three changes for Argentina
Argentina and Egypt met today in Atlanta in a high-voltage World Cup round-of-16 match. On one side, a fairy-tale Egypt side savoring its first-ever World Cup knockout win; on the other, title-chasing Argentina. The clash between these two contrasting sides had the football world on edge.
To break down Egypt’s defense, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made three major changes to the starting lineup. Experienced defender Nicolas Tagliafico returned from injury in place of Facundo Medina, who was out with a muscle strain. Leandro Paredes started in midfield in place of Thiago Almada to add more bite, freeing Alexis Mac Allister to play a more advanced role. There was also a major shift in attack — young Julian Alvarez, back from an ankle injury, replaced out-of-form Lautaro Martinez in the starting eleven.
Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah had gone a long time without major success with the national team. But under Salah’s magical leadership, the Pharaohs have rewritten history. Egypt, who had never won a World Cup match before, has now reached the last 16. The match against Argentina is difficult, but a win would take Salah’s side to unprecedented heights.
Argentina XI: Emiliano Martinez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.
Egypt XI: Mostafa Shobeir, Mohamed Hany, Rami Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Karim Hafez, Emam Ashour, Marwan Attia, Mohamed Lasheen, Hassan, Mohamed Salah, Zizo.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report