Messi and Argentina after a great thrill
Photo: Reuters.
Incredible, breathtaking, dramatic, unimaginable, thrilling...! No words can truly describe it. A mesmerizing match, the kind that stays
in the eyes forever, unfolded at the Atlanta Stadium. It featured an extraordinary display of Argentina’s grit, determination, and strong mentality, alongside a historic comeback. On the other side, Egypt stood as a testament to an incredible ability to fight eye to eye.
And Lionel Messi? He proved once again why he transcends time as the greatest of all time. It was his brilliant performance that guided Argentina to a dramatic victory and into the quarter-finals. When the fear of defeat loomed large as Argentina fell two goals behind against Egypt’s all-out football, it was then, in a 13-minute storm, that Argentina wrote an epic comeback. With a late-game surge, Messi and his team reached the last eight with a 3-2 victory, leaving Egypt in tears.
The 90 minutes at the Atlanta Stadium felt like a rerun of the 2022 World Cup final. The only difference was that Argentina was leading 2-0 back then, whereas this time they trailed by the same margin. After winning a tough battle against Cape Verde, Messi had mentioned that this Argentina team's greatest strength is its mentality. That was exactly what shone through in the match against Egypt.
After Argentina fell behind in the 15th minute to a brilliant header by Yasser Ibrahim, Messi missed a penalty. Mentally, anyone would have collapsed at that point. Furthermore, the superhuman saves by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir were deepening Argentina’s frustration. Take Julian Alvarez's chance, for instance. In the 39th minute, the Egyptian shot-stopper denied a certain goal. The goalpost also seemed to stand as a barrier for the Albiceleste. Messi's free-kick struck the outer post.
Due to misfortune and Shobeir's outstanding skill, Argentina ended the first half trailing by a goal. Returning from the break, the hunt for a goal continued. However, because of their ultra-aggressive mindset, the world champions' defense was left exposed a few times. In one such situation in the 58th minute, the African nation celebrated a goal once again. But luck was on Argentina's side this time as VAR came to their rescue. Lisandro Martinez had been fouled during the build-up to Mostafa Ziko's goal. As a result, Egypt's goal was disallowed.
Egypt did not stop. They kept pressing and putting pressure on Argentina, while also waiting for counter-attack opportunities. They did not have to wait long. Ziko, who had exploded in frustration and anger just moments earlier over the disallowed goal, was successful this time. The forward doubled the lead from a counter-attack. Mohamed Salah carried the ball forward and flicked it to Haissem Hassan, whose cross led to a wonderful goal by Ziko.
