Argentina 3-2 Egypt: Messi with 1G1A leads epic comeback as Enzo scores last-gasp winner

Argentina completed yet another dramatic World Cup comeback as Enzo Fernandez's 92nd-minute winner saw them down a spirited Egypt side 3-2 at Atlanta Stadium. 

Match Events:

15' - GOAL! Ibrahim headed Egypt in front to kick off the drama.

21'- PENALTY SAVED! Messi cannot beat Shobeir from the spot.

HT Argentina 0-1 Egypt

59'- DISALLOWED! Zico goal disallowed for foul on Martinez.

67'- GOAL! Zico beat Martinez to double Egypt's advantage.

79'- GOAL! Romero pulled one back from Messi's cross.

83'- GOAL! Messi levelled the game by lashing in a half-volley.

90+2' - GOAL! Fernandez headed in to complete the comeback.

FT Argentina 3-2 Egypt

Match Report 

Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico had put Egypt into a shock two-goal lead by the 67th minute, with Lionel Messi having also seen a first-half penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir. 

But just as they did against Cape Verde, Argentina showcased their powers of recovery once more as Cristian Romero and Messi's quickfire goals hauled them back level. 

And with extra time looming, Fernandez popped up with the decisive moment in the second minute of stoppage time to book their spot in the quarter-finals.  

Lionel Scaloni's side struggled to find their rhythm early on and found themselves behind in the 15th minute when Ibrahim rose above Lisandro Martinez to head Marwan Attia's sensational delivery to the back post beyond Emiliano Martinez. 

But Egypt's joy was cut short when Haissem Hassan switched off to Fernandez's clever ball in behind and brought down Nicolas Tagliafico inside the area, but he was bailed out by his goalkeeper Shobeir, who dived to his left to thwart Messi's penalty. 

Excluding shoot-outs, half of the penalty saves at this year's World Cup have been by Shobeir (2/4), and he had to be on his toes shortly after the hydration break to keep out Alexis Mac Allister's header before Messi struck the post with a free-kick from distance. 

Shobeir came to Egypt's rescue again six minutes before the break to thwart Julian Alvarez's effort from point-blank range with another stunning stop, as Argentina entered half-time behind in a World Cup match for the first time since their quarter-final defeat to Germany in 2010. 

Argentina thought they had fallen behind just before the hour when Hassan's driving run ended with Mohamed Salah teeing up Mostafa Zico to score, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review for a foul on Martinez by Attia in the build-up. 

But he was not to be denied. Another lightning Egypt break led by Salah saw the ball make its way to the lively Hassan, who delivered an inch-perfect cross for Zico to tuck home from inside the six-yard box in the 67th minute. 

However, Argentina dug deep and flipped the script in the space of four minutes. Romero headed in from Messi's teasing delivery from the right-hand side before the Argentina captain thundered his 83rd-minute shot in off the crossbar despite Shobeir's best efforts. 

There was, however, still time for one more twist. Lautaro Martinez, who had impressed since coming off the bench, raced on to Alvarez's pass before taking a touch and planting his cross onto the head of Fernandez to keep Argentina's World Cup hopes alive. 

Messi atones for another World Cup penalty miss as Argentina come back from the brink

Ahead of kick-off, Argentina said they were wary of the threat Egypt possessed and would not underestimate their opponents after their scare against Cape Verde in the last round, and those fears were quickly realised. 

Messi, on the day he equalled Miroslav Klose's all-time record for the most knockout stage appearances at the World Cup (14), became the first player in the tournament's history to miss two penalties at a single edition, excluding shoot-outs. 

Argentina found themselves in the unusual position of being behind at half-time in a World Cup match, though they would have been confident. Their expected goals (xG) total of 1.51 was the most of any team who failed to score in the first half at this year's tournament so far. 

But Zico, having earlier been denied a goal, helped Egypt become the first CAF-Nation to lead the reigning champions by 2+ goals in a World Cup match. Argentina had lost all 13 of their previous matches in the competition when they had been two goals behind, but they put an end to that run here. 

Messi, after assisting Romero, atoned for his earlier penalty miss with his eighth goal at the World Cup this year, while also extending his scoring run in the tournament to nine consecutive matches. He is also the first player in the history of the competition to net in six consecutive knockout stage encounters. 

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner extended his all-time record for World Cup goals to 21, though he will be counting his lucky stars after another Argentina turnaround, with Switzerland or Colombia up next in the quarter-finals. 

Line-ups

Argentina XI: Messi, E. Martinez, Tagliafico, Paredes, De Paul, Molina, Cristian Romero, Mac Allister, Lisandro Martinez, Alvarez, Enzo

Subs: Otamendi, Gerónimo Rulli, Musso, Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Lautaro, Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Senesi, N. Gonzalez, Facundo Medina, Thiago Almada, Flaco López, Giuliano Simeone, Valentín Barco, Nico Paz

Egypt XI: Salah, Ramy Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Karim Hafez, Mohamed Hany, Mohanad Lasheen, Haissem Hassan, Emam Ashour, Oufa Shobeir, Marwan Ateya, Mostafa Ziko

Subs: El Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed El Shenawy, Trezeguet, Zizo, Hamdy Fathy, Omar Marmoush, Nabil Dunga, Mahmoud Saber, Ibrahim Adel, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Tarek Alaa, Mohamed Alaa, Hamza Abdelkarim