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Lionel Messi Spearheads Historic, Controversial Comeback for Argentina

The World Cup has delivered yet again, with defending champions Argentina and Lionel Messi completing a two-goal comeback in a matter of 13 minutes. Not long after that, his Argentinian teammates scored in stoppage time to put the reigning FIFA World Cup winners (2022) in front for the first time all day, sending Egypt to a shocking, frustrating exit from the Round of 16.

Sports • July 8, 2026
Written by ZACH ROBERTS
Photography IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS/BRETT DAVIS


The World Cup has delivered yet again, with defending champions Argentina and Lionel Messi completing a two-goal comeback in a matter of 13 minutes. They trailed by two goals, which perhaps should’ve been three if not for a controversial overturn, in the 79th minute before coming alive. Messi delivered an assist and then tied the game a few minutes later.

Not long after that, his Argentinian teammates scored in stoppage time to put the reigning FIFA World Cup winners (2022) in front for the first time all day, sending Egypt to a shocking, frustrating exit from the Round of 16.

Lionel Messi leads historic comeback with late flurry

A two-goal deficit in the 79th minute of a top-level soccer match holds up 98% of the time, leading to either a win or draw. In this instance, Egypt’s two-goal lead did not hold up. It evaporated, thanks in no small part to Lionel Messi.

Messi contributed a brilliant assist to get the team on the scoreboard, and then he tied it later. “Honestly, I’m just so happy we made it through and about the way we did it,” Messi said. “Things got tough at 2-0, so it was incredibly exciting to turn it around once again. We suffered a lot, but that’s the World Cup for you: Every match is playing out the same way; everything is so evenly matched.”

Messi had enjoyed quite a frustrating first half that saw Argentina stunningly fall behind. He missed a penalty to equalize and later hit the post with another chance to tie. Eventually, he got going, creating chances late in the second half that eventually broke Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir’s seal on the net.

He now has a two-goal lead for the golden boot over Kylian Mbappe, but it has been an odd World Cup for Messi. His penalty miss, which was more a brilliant save than a failing of Messi’s, was his fourth penalty miss throughout his World Cup career. He’s made four, so his percentage is not very high.

Controversial overturn stuns Egypt

While they would score not long after, it appeared that Egypt had initially doubled its advantage in the second half before VAR stepped in. The review came for a foul that occurred a fair bit before the actual goal, and many were shocked that the goal was reversed and taken off the board.

There were a number of other controversies involving the referees, which have become a sad commonality across the World Cup matches this summer. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan called it an “injustice” and implied that FIFA wanted to keep Lionel Messi in the tournament.

“We looked better than the reigning champions — better in everything — but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan said after the heartbreaking loss. “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.

He continued scathingly, “We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out . It was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. I want to put it in beautiful words and say, ‘Hard luck,’ but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice,” he said.

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Zach Roberts
By Zach Roberts
Zachary Roberts has written in the sports industry for over four years. He's covered the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Seattle Seahawks, and wider coverage of the NFL, pro golf, NHL, MLB, and NBA. He has worked with ComicBook, Sportskeeda, The Sporting News, and the On SI Network. In his free time, Zachary loves playing video games, watching movies, or reading books.

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