Argentina pull off one of greatest World Cup comebacks ever to avoid massive upset against Egypt
FIFA WC26
3-2
Finished
3-2
Finished
Key moments
-
15'
Goal
YASSER IBRAHIM (Egypt) scores!! -
21'
Yellow card
SAAFAN ELSAGHIR (Staff) (Egypt) is booked -
67'
Goal
MOSTAFA ZICO (Egypt) scores!! -
79'
Goal
Cristian ROMERO (Argentina) scores!! -
83'
Goal
Lionel MESSI (Argentina) scores!! -
90'+2'
Goal
Enzo FERNANDEZ (Argentina) scores!! -
90'+3'
Yellow card
MOSTAFA SHOUBIR (Egypt) is booked by -
90'+4'
Yellow card
HAMDY FATHY (Egypt) is booked by -
90'+4'
Red card
SAAFAN ELSAGHIR (Staff) (Egypt) is sent -
90'+8'
Yellow card
MARAWAN ATTIA (Egypt) is booked by -
90'+9'
Yellow card
HOSSAM HASSAN (Egypt) is booked by -
90'
Yellow card
HAISSEM HASSAN (Egypt) is booked by
Squads
Argentina squad
- Selected
-
3 Nicolas TAGLIAFICO
Defender -
5 Leandro PAREDES
Midfielder -
6 Lisandro MARTINEZ
Defender -
7 Rodrigo DE PAUL
Midfielder -
9 Julian ALVAREZ
Forward -
10 Lionel MESSI
C Forward -
13 Cristian ROMERO
Defender -
20 Alexis MAC ALLISTER
Midfielder -
23 Emiliano MARTINEZ
Goalkeeper -
24 Enzo FERNANDEZ
Midfielder -
26 Nahuel MOLINA
Defender -
1 Juan MUSSO
Goalkeeper -
2 Marcos SENESI
Defender -
4 Gonzalo MONTIEL
Defender -
8 Valentin BARCO
Midfielder -
11 Giovani Lo Celso
Midfielder -
12 Geronimo RULLI
Goalkeeper -
14 Exequiel PALACIOS
Midfielder -
15 Nico GONZALEZ
Midfielder -
16 Thiago ALMADA
Forward -
17 Giuliano SIMEONE
Forward -
18 Nico PAZ
Forward -
19 Nicolas OTAMENDI
Defender -
21 Jose Manuel LOPEZ
Forward -
22 Lautaro MARTINEZ
Forward -
25 Facundo MEDINA
Defender
Egypt squad
- Selected
-
2 YASSER IBRAHIM
Defender -
3 MOHAMED HANY
Defender -
5 RAMY RABIA
Defender -
8 EMAM ASHOUR
Midfielder -
10 MOHAMED SALAH
C Forward -
11 MOSTAFA ZICO
Midfielder -
12 Haissem HASSAN
Forward -
15 KARIM HAFEZ
Defender -
17 MOHANAD LASHIN
Midfielder -
19 MARAWAN ATTIA
Midfielder -
23 MOSTAFA SHOUBIR
Goalkeeper -
1 MOHAMED ELSHENAWY
Goalkeeper -
4 HOSSAM ABDELMAGUID
Defender -
7 TREZEGUET
Forward -
9 HAMZA ABDELKARIM
Forward -
14 HAMDY FATHY
Midfielder -
16 MAHDY SOLIMAN
Goalkeeper -
18 NABIL DONGA
Midfielder -
20 IBRAHIM ADEL
Forward -
21 MAHMOUD SABER
Midfielder -
22 OMAR MARMOUSH
Forward -
24 TAREK ALAA
Defender -
25 ZIZO
Forward -
26 MOHAMED ALAA
Goalkeeper - Full squad
-
6 MOHAMED ABDELMONEIM
Defender -
13 AHMED FATOUH
Defender
Argentina faced potential elimination in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 after squandering multiple chances in the first half, including a penalty attempt by Lionel Messi. Egypt proved ruthlessly efficient, converting just three shots into two goals to establish a commanding advantage late in the match.
The defending champions engineered a stunning turnaround by scoring three goals within a 15-minute span to clinch an improbable victory. The dramatic comeback kept Argentina's pursuit of consecutive World Cup championships alive and highlighted the tournament's capacity for extraordinary momentum shifts.
- Argentina overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring three goals in under 15 minutes against Egypt in the Round of 16
- The comeback win preserves the defending champions' bid for back-to-back World Cup titles
- Despite controlling play and earning a penalty kick early on, Argentina struggled to finish before mounting a dramatic second-half surge