Lionel Messi led a stunning late fightback as Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, the reigning champions recovering from a two-goal deficit to escape a monumental upset.<\/p>\n
Egypt looked poised to score a famous victory at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium after goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico left them 2-0 up with just 11 minutes of normal time remaining.<\/p>\n
But Cristian Romero’s 79th-minute header from a pinpoint Messi cross gave the defending champions a lifeline at 2-1.<\/p>\n
Four minutes later, Messi volleyed in a superb equaliser — his eighth goal of the tournament — to make it 2-2 and spark wild celebrations among the huge contingent of Argentina fans in the 68,239 crowd.<\/p>\n
With extra-time looming, Enzo Fernandez nodded in a sensational winner in the second minute of time added on to finally break Egypt’s resistance.<\/p>\n
An emotional Messi broke down after the final whistle, tears of relief and joy streaming down his face after a nerve-shredding victory.<\/p>\n
“Turning a match around like that — coming back from 2-0 down — it wasn’t easy, especially given how this World Cup is playing out and the fact that no-one is just rolling over,” Messi said.<\/p>\n
“It was a moment of pure happiness and relief; we wanted to stay in the tournament. We didn’t want today to be the end, we didn’t want to go home.”<\/p>\n
Fernandez’s goal capped what had been an epic contest, which saw Messi miss a first-half penalty for the second time this tournament, and Egypt have a second-half goal ruled out in a controversial VAR decision.<\/p>\n
But furious Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan said his team had been “cheated” by the decisions that went against them.<\/p>\n
“I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice,” said Hassan.<\/p>\n
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play.”<\/p>\n
The win was another nailbiting close shave for Argentina, who had been taken to the wire by Cape Verde in an extra-time thriller in the last 32 on Friday.<\/p>\n
– Shoot-out drama –<\/p>\n
Argentina will play Switzerland in the quarter-finals in Kansas City on Saturday after the Europeans edged past Colombia in Vancouver later Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Colombia, supported by hordes of passionate yellow-clad fans at BC Place, had been tipped as dark horses for the tournament.<\/p>\n
But their dreams of an extended run ended in an agonising 4-3 penalty shoot-out defeat when the match finished 0-0 after extra-time.<\/p>\n
The win secured Switzerland’s first World Cup quarter-final appearance since 1954, when they hosted the tournament.<\/p>\n
Argentina and Switzerland’s victories completed the quarter-final line-up for the tournament, with France facing Morocco on Thursday when the last eight gets under way.<\/p>\n
The United States were the last of the three World Cup co-hosts to exit the tournament on Monday when they were thrashed 4-1 by Belgium in the last 16 in a game overshadowed by the controversy over striker Folarin Balogun.<\/p>\n
Balogun was allowed to play in the match after a FIFA reprieve following an intervention from US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Belgium’s jubilant players celebrated Monday’s win by trolling Trump — mimicking the US leader’s signature dance to “Y.M.C.A” in their locker-room following Monday’s win, according to video footage shared widely on social media.<\/p>\n
The United States Soccer Federation meanwhile indicated that US coach Mauricio Pochettino may yet stay on as the team’s boss, saying in a statement on Tuesday that discussions with the Argentine were ongoing.<\/p>\n
“We had positive conversations with Mauricio before the World Cup about the future,” US Soccer said in a statement. “We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post World Cup.<\/p>\n
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