Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – 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. 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.
But Cristian Romero’s 79th-minute header from a pinpoint Messi cross gave the defending champions a lifeline at 2-1. 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. 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.
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An emotional Messi broke down after the final whistle, tears of relief and joy streaming down his face after a nerve-shredding victory. “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. “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.”
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. But furious Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan said his team had been “cheated” by the decisions that went against them. “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. “We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play.”
The win was another nail-biting 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.
**Shoot-out drama**
Argentina will play Switzerland in the quarter-finals in Kansas City on Saturday after the Europeans edged past Colombia in Vancouver later Tuesday. Colombia, supported by hordes of passionate yellow-clad fans at BC Place, had been tipped as dark horses for the tournament. 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.
The win secured Switzerland’s first World Cup quarter-final appearance since 1954, when they hosted the tournament. 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.
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. Balogun was allowed to play in the match after a FIFA reprieve following an intervention from US President Donald Trump. 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.
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. “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.”
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