In what was perhaps the most dramatic game in World Cup 2026 So far, Argentina came from a two-goal deficit to beat Egypt 3-2. Like drama, football legend Lionel Messi He was seen crying at the full-time whistle.
Egypt took the lead through Yasser Ibrahim as Messi missed a penalty kick to restore his team’s draw. Then he saw the side of Africa One goal was controversially ruled out Before Mustafa Zico scored the goal to make it 2-0. At this moment, Argentina’s number 10 seemed to come to life.
Cristian Romero pulled a goal back, and just four minutes later, Messi equalized. Enzo Fernandes completed the remarkable comeback in the 93rd minute. Messi was in tears at the final whistle, and later explained his feelings to the press:
“I felt like I let the team down in an important moment,” the 39-year-old said after missing the penalty kick. “But fortunately fate had something special for me in the end, and I was able to score the equalizer.”
Thierry Henry drops his ruling on Messi against Egypt
Just one day ago, Cristiano Ronaldo left the field crying as wellSpain beat Portugal to end its World Cup dreams for the last time. For Messi, and his former Barcelona teammate, it was a different kind of feeling Thierry Henry It provided some interesting insights behind the scenes.
Speaking on Fox Sports, the pundit gave an honest assessment of Messi’s tears. He explained in a clip that was circulated on many outlets and garnered thousands of views and comments:
“First of all, he reminds us that he is a human being, because he missed some penalties and four out of eight (in all World Cup finals). Then he reminds us again that he is not a human being.
“I mean, I played with him and Leo, sometimes you don’t wake the beast? That’s what happened, and I saw it in training, up close. You know when you’re in training sometimes, and you know guys when one of the coaches doesn’t want to call a foul or the ball gets fouled, and then you score, and then Leo wants that ball to come out and you get a foul, and then he says, ‘The ball’s out,’ and the coach’s like, ‘Stop complaining, because it can happen in the game.’
“Next thing you know you’re looking into his eyes and he turns and goes and gets that ball. I was there and witnessed it. [in training at Barcelona]. He scores three goals in a row by scoring straight away, then taking the ball away from you, then scoring again, then taking the ball away from you, then scoring again, then turning around. “Next time, foul call,” he said, and we all went. “Yes, next time, call wrong” because it cannot be stopped. “When he gets into that mood, it’s very difficult to stop him.”
Egypt national team manager accuses Messi after Argentina’s defeat
While Messi’s World Cup dream remains alive, Egypt was left in equal measure sad and angry after their exit from the tournament. Director Hossam Hassan claimed that The match was “rigged” to allow Argentina and Messi to remain in the competitionunder the pretext:
“They want Argentina and Messi to stay in the World Cup for marketing purposes. If they want Argentina to win, why do they invite other teams to participate? This match was clearly rigged, and the whole world saw it.”
“We were better than Argentina, and football is unfair. We got a clear penalty kick that the referee did not award, and Zico’s goal was disallowed at the beginning of the second half, even though it was completely legitimate.”
In addition to this, The Egyptian Football Association has now issued an extraordinary statementexplaining their anger at the refereeing of the match. I read:
“The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed in the match against Argentina, as well as the failure to appropriately use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. Several key events raised serious concerns and left deep questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly affected the conduct of the match.
The statement concluded: “Every player who wears the Egyptian jersey, and every fan who stands behind the team, deserves justice, respect and equality in applying the laws of the game.”
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals as they look to continue defending their title, after winning the World Cup in 2022.
