By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: FIFA.
Defending champions Argentina have pulled off a stunning comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta stadium to reach the World Cup quarterfinals.
Trailing by two goals with less than 15 minutes left, Argentina rallied with late goals from Christian Romero, Lionel Messi, and a dramatic 92nd-minute winner by Enzo Fernandez.
The North Africans fell apart in the closing stages, however, as the 39-year-old Messi, whose record World Cup goal haul is now up to 21, orchestrated Argentina’s dramatic revival.
Messi also missed a chance in the first half when his penalty kick was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.
Egypt took a lead in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim got ahead of Lisandro Martinez to meet Marwan Attia’s cross and head the ball into the bottom corner.
After Messi hit the post later in the half, Shobeir pulled off another great save to stop Julian Alvarez from close range.
Egypt thought it had doubled its lead in the second half when Mostafa Zico finished off a sweeping attack. But the wild celebrations were cut short when a foul earlier in the move was confirmed on video review and the goal was disallowed.
That second goal for Egypt did come in the 67th from a similar break, and this time Zico’s effort counted. It just wasn’t enough.
Argentina had created precious little up to that point, but Romero’s 79th-minute header sparked Lionel Scaloni’s team into life before Messi slammed home his 21st World Cup goal to set up a frantic conclusion to a pulsating contest.
Fernandez had the final say, his perfectly placed header completing one of the great World Cup recoveries with the 3,000th goal in tournament history.
The defending champions will next face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri. Argentina is bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil did so in 1958 and 1962.