Argentina produced a stunning late comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 and book a place in the World Cup quarter-finals after overturning a two-goal deficit, with Lionel Messi scoring his eighth goal of the tournament.
The Pharaohs made a dream start to the Round of 16 encounter as Ibrahim Y. fired them into the lead in the 15th minute.
Argentina had a golden opportunity to draw level six minutes later, but Messi failed to convert from the penalty spot in the 21st minute.
Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage in the 58th minute through Zico, but the effort was ruled out for a foul during the build-up.
The forward, however, made no mistake nine minutes later, finding the back of the net in the 67th minute to give the Africans a commanding 2-0 lead.
Argentina began their fightback in the closing stages, with Romeo C. reducing the deficit in the 79th minute to set up a tense finale.
Messi then redeemed his earlier penalty miss by firing home the equaliser in the 83rd minute. The strike was his eighth goal of the World Cup, moving the Argentina captain back to the top of the tournament’s scoring chart.
With extra time looming, Argentina completed the remarkable turnaround when Fernandez E. struck in stoppage time, scoring in the 90+3rd minute to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.
The result sends Argentina into the quarter-finals, while Egypt’s impressive World Cup campaign comes to an end after surrendering a two-goal advantage.