In what was perhaps the most dramatic game of the 2026 World Cup so far, Argentina came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2. Such as the drama, football legend Lionel Messi was seen in tears at the full-time whistle.
Egypt took the lead through Yasser Ibrahim as Messi missed a penalty to get his team back level. The side from Africa then saw one goal controversially ruled out before Mostafa Ziko scored to make it 2-0. At this moment, Argentina's number 10 appeared to spark into life.
Cristian Romero pulled one back, and only four minutes later, Messi had levelled the scores. Enzo Fernandes would complete the remarkable comeback in the 93rd minute. Messi was in tears at the final whistle, later explaining his emotions to the press:
“I felt like I had let the team down at an important moment,” the 39-year-old said on his missed penalty. “But fortunately, fate had something special for me at the end, and I managed to score the equaliser.”
Egypt coaches argue with the referee after Argentina's winner Related
Messi Got Involved as Footage Shows Touchline Scenes After Argentina's Winner v Egypt
Messi's actions appeared to anger some of Egypt's coaching staff.
Thierry Henry Drops Verdict on Messi vs Egypt
Just one day prior, Cristiano Ronaldo had exited the pitch also in tears, as Spain beat Portugal to end his World Cup dreams for the final time. For Messi, this was a different kind of emotion, and former Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry provided some interesting insight into the scenes.
Speaking on Fox Sports, the pundit offered up an honest assessment of Messi's tears. In a clip which has gone viral on numerous outlets, generating thousands of views and comments, he explained:
"First and foremost, he reminded us that he's human, because he missed some penalties and four out of eight (at all World Cups). And then he reminds us again that he's not human.
"I mean, I played with him, and with Leo, sometimes do not wake up the beast? That's what happened, and I've seen it in training, closely. You know when you're in training sometimes, and you know guys when when one of the coaches don't want to call a foul or the ball was out, and then you score, and then Leo wanted that ball to be out and a foul, and then he goes, 'The ball went out', and the coach was like, 'Stop complaining, because it can happen in the game.'
"Next thing you know, you look at his eyes and he switches, and he goes and get that ball. I was there. I witnessed it [in training at Barcelona]. He scores three goals in a row by scoring straight away, robbing the ball off you, scoring again, robbing the ball off you, scoring again, and he turns. He said, 'Next time, call of foul', and we all went. 'Yeah, next time, call of foul' because he's just unstoppable. When he goes into that mood, he's very difficult to stop."
Egypt Manager Makes FIFA Messi Accusation After Argentina Defeat
Hossam HassanPaul Childs via Reuters
While Messi's World Cup dream lives on, Egypt were left equal parts heartbroken and furious as they crashed out of the tournament. Manager Hossam Hassan claimed that the game was 'rigged' to allow Argentina and Messi to stay in the competition, arguing:
"They want Argentina and Messi to stay in the World Cup for marketing. If they wanted Argentina to win, why invite other teams to participate? This match was clearly rigged, and the whole world witnessed it.
“We were better than Argentina, and football is unfair. We had a clear penalty that the referee didn't award, and Ziko's goal at the start of the second half was disallowed, even though it was perfectly legitimate."
Adding to this, the Egyptian Football Association have now published an extraordinary statement, outlining their fury at the officiating in the game. It read:
"The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.
The statement concluded: "Every player who wears the Egyptian shirt, and every supporter who stands behind the team, deserves fairness, respect, and equal application of the laws of the game."
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals as they look to continue their trophy defence, having won the World Cup in 2022.