Lionel Messi leaps in celebration after scoring the equalizer for Argentina in their 2026 World Cup round-of-16 match against Egypt on Wednesday. [Reuters]
Lionel Messi leaps in celebration after scoring the equalizer for Argentina in their 2026 World Cup round-of-16 match against Egypt on Wednesday. [Reuters]

Lionel Messi (39) made amends for his own mistakes with sheer determination.

In the 2026 World Cup round-of-16 match held Wednesday in Atlanta, defending champion Argentina had failed to score through the 79th minute. Trailing 0-2 to Egypt — making their first-ever appearance in the knockout round — Argentina looked headed for a stunning upset.

Messi's uncharacteristic silence in the first half was part of the problem. In the 19th minute, he won a penalty and stepped up to take it himself, only to be denied by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. It was his second missed penalty of the tournament, following one against Austria in the group stage. In the 31st minute, he tried his luck with a free kick, but the ball struck the post.

After the missed penalty, Messi's expression hardened. Rather than despair or give up, he bore down on the game with even greater focus. In the 79th minute, he delivered a perfect cross to Cristian Romero for Argentina's first goal. Four minutes later, he pounced on a loose ball in a scramble in front of goal and drove it home with his right foot to level the score, and his expression finally softened.

When Argentina's winner arrived deep in stoppage time, Messi broke down in tears — the joy of turning a near-defeat into a victory mixed with relief at having made up for his earlier mistakes. His teammates tossed him in the air after the final whistle, a gesture of encouragement for the weight of responsibility and pressure he had clearly carried throughout.

Lionel Messi sprints across the pitch after scoring the equalizer for Argentina in their 2026 World Cup round-of-16 match against Egypt on Wednesday. [AP]
Lionel Messi sprints across the pitch after scoring the equalizer for Argentina in their 2026 World Cup round-of-16 match against Egypt on Wednesday. [AP]

Messi's heroics in turning the match around also extended his record-breaking run. His eighth goal of the tournament moved him one clear of Kylian Mbappe (France) and Erling Haaland (Norway) to take sole top spot in the scoring charts, while his 21st career World Cup goal kept him firmly in first place on the all-time list.

He also became the first player to score in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches, a run spanning the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the current tournament. He is likewise the first player to score in eight consecutive World Cup finals matches.

Appearing in his sixth World Cup, Messi scored one goal at the 2006 Germany tournament, four at the 2014 Brazil tournament, one at the 2018 Russia tournament, and seven at the 2022 Qatar tournament, where he led Argentina to the title. His run shows no sign of stopping. Having reversed his international retirement to compete in this edition, he has already surpassed his own single-tournament scoring record with eight goals, defying his age.

Two more goals in the remaining knockout matches would make him the first player since Gerd Muller of West Germany — who scored 10 goals at the 1970 tournament — to reach double figures in a single World Cup. The all-time record for goals in a single tournament is 13, set by Just Fontaine of France in 1958.


yjc@heraldcorp.com