Lionel Messi stood at the middle of Atlanta Stadium with tears in his eyes. The final whistle had just sounded and the roar of the crowd was reaching its crescendo following what could only be termed as a ‘miracle’ by Argentina. With around 15 minutes left in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash, the defending champions looked down and out. It was certainly not a bad performance from them but Egypt took their chances when it mattered and a two-goal deficit seemed like a challenge too tough for them. What made the situation even worse was the fact that it felt like the last time fans were watching Messi play in the World Cup. He had earlier missed a penalty in the first half and his frustration at the situation was quite visible.
And then, it all changed.
While comparing him with Cristiano Ronaldo, the one thing that people think Messi lack is the killer instinct. In comparison to the fiery personality that Ronaldo has always been, Messi has always been viewed as the unassuming one. However, on a night when his team needed him the most, Messi found the fire within and produced a show that once again proved his greatness.
Argentina were a bit taken aback by Egypt’s aggressive start to the game and the defending champions were stunned in the 15th minute as Yasser Ibrahim muscled his way into the box and headed home to hand Egypt the lead.
However, just 6 minutes later, Argentina won a penalty and Messi stepped up to take the kick. Earlier in the tournament, he missed a penalty against Austria but made up for it with an on-field goal. He tried to go for power this time but the kick was at the perfect height and the in-form Mostafa Shoubir pulled off a brilliant save to put Argentina on the back foot once again.
Argentina kept attacking the Egyptian box but found little success. Messi was able to hit the post with a direct free-kick but it felt like Egypt just had all the luck. Things got worse in the 67th minute when Mostafa Zico doubled the lead.
The goal should have sealed the game but Argentina refused to give up.
Lautaro Martinez had just entered the field one minute before Egypt’s second goal but the striker became the main weapon in Messi’s gameplan. With the Argentine maestro assuming the playmaker role, Martinez kept making darting runs behind the Egyptian defence and that ensured a certain amount of space for other players just in front of goal.
That is exactly how the first goal came. Messi floated in a delightful ball inside the box and centre back Cristian Romero, who was far away from his original position, headed it past Shoubir to hand Argentina a glimmer of hope.
Argentina were not happy with just one goal and the relentless attacks continued. The crosses kept arriving and Egypt suddenly did not look as reassured as they did even 10 minutes ago. Gonzalo Montiel ended up providing the exact pass that Messi needed and his thunderous shot struck the crossbar before going in for the much-awaited equaliser.
This was Messi’s eighth goal of the competition. At 39, his numbers are better than they have ever been but what caught the eye of many fans was his celebration after the goal. It was fiery and emotional but also quite brief. There was a job to be done and it looked like Messi did not want to waste time and let the game go to extra-time and maybe even penalties.
The series of attacks continued and Egypt tried to hand on for dear life. A long ball from Julian Alvarez sent Martinez down the flank and the striker decided to send in an audacious cross. Enzo Fernandez was in the middle and his perfectly-timed header crashed into the net as the entire stadium could not believe what they had just witnessed.
At full-time, Messi finally let go. The relief took over and he was left crying with his teammates surrounding him. Just like the Cape Verde game, Argentina did not look invincible but Messi just never gave up, and neither did his teammates.
“The truth is that it was a moment of release, a release for all of us,” Messi said after the game. “I was feeling intense anger because of the penalty I wasted, and because of the way I took it. I felt like in that important moment, I had let the team down.
“But fortunately, God had something special in store for me once again in the end, and I was able to score the equalizer.”
In 2018, a commentator famously wondered whether it was the last time that Messi was playing the tournament. In 2022, fans were debating whether he will have the motivation left to play at the highest level after winning the World Cup title. But outside noise has never really bothered Messi and when his team needed him the most, he proved once again why he is the GOAT.
