Enzo Fernandez headed a stoppage time 3-2 winner as defending champions Argentina overcame a missed Lionel Messi penalty and a 2-0 deficit with a dramatic late comeback triumph in the World Cup last 16 on Tuesday.
Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th and Mostafa Ziko in the 67th had put the Pharaoes 2-0 up as an upset of monstrous proportions loomed, with Messi having missed a second spot kick at the tournament in the 21st when he failed to beat goalkeeper Mostapha Shoubeir.
Argentina were staring into the abyss but Cristian Romero headed in Messi’s cross in the 79th, Messi smashed the equalizer in off the crossbar four minutes later and Fernandez clinched the incredible comeback in the second minute of stoppage time.
Like in the last 32 against Austria, Messi found the net after failing to convert from the spot.
The talisman returned to the top of the tournament scorer charts on his own with now eight goals, one ahead of Norway‘s Erling Haaland and France‘s Kylian Mbappé.
He has scored in nine World Cup games in a row for an overall tournament tally of 21, both records.
While Argentina move into a quarter-final against Colombia or Switzerland, Mohamed Salah‘s Egypt can leave with their heads up high after a superb performance which included amazing saves from Shoubeir before the late collapse. They also had a first goal from Ziko chalked off for a foul in the build-up.
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