Why Lionel Messi cried after Argentina's dramatic win over Egypt

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FT Desk

In what proved to be one of the most dramatic World Cup comebacks in history, Argentina successfully defeated Egypt 3-2 after being two goals down with 11 minutes remaining to progress to the quarter-final.

Lionel Messi, naturally, emerged as one of the protagonists of the comeback.

That was despite him missing a penalty with a poor effort in the first half and generally being well below the level we've seen him perform at, at the 2026 World Cup so far.

He looked out of sorts for the first hour and that led to a lacklustre Argentina performance.

Egypt took full advantage and went two goals up after a header from Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute and a finish from Mostafa Ziko in the 67th minute.

Argentina were facing elimination at the Round of 16 but rallied in the final 10 minutes or so as Messi clipped a cross in for Cristian Romero to head home before finding the back of the net himself with a ferocious half-volley inside the box that proved too hot to handle for goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

Extra-time looked likely, but Enzo Fernandez found the winner on the break, heading across goal into the bottom corner after a glorious cross from Lautaro Martinez.

Egypt can count themselves unlucky as a few decisions went against them that might not have on another day, such as a disallowed goal for Ziko after Lisandro Martinez was judged by the referee to have been fouled in the build-up.

There was an outpouring of emotion at the full-time whistle, especially from Messi, who broke down crying.

When asked by reporters post-match why he was so emotional, he responded:

"We suffered a lot again. But this is the World Cup and all the matches are very close, so I’m very happy.

"It was a relief for everyone. It’s not easy to come back from 2-0 down, but this group never gives up; they fight until the very end.

"We were lucky to get Cuti’s [Romero] goal early on, we were able to turn it around and we won in 90 minutes.

"I was really frustrated about the penalty, for missing it and taking it badly. If I had scored that penalty, it would have changed the game.

"We had clear chances and the goalkeeper made some incredible saves. It’s very special to help this group after what had happened internally."

It's not the first time Messi has been visibly emotional after a game, though it is believed he is dealing with family issues behind closed doors as his father is receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni also cried at full-time and revealed that some of his players actually refer to him, affectionately, as "crybaby".

"I always get emotional," he said.

"Sometimes the tears come out. The tears came in the dressing room too. The boys even call me 'the crybaby', but I don’t care.

"For all of us who played soccer for 20 years, to feel what we felt today again is incredible.

"I think most coaches who played soccer become coaches because of days like this, because of those emotions, that adrenaline."

Messi may not have been at his best against Egypt but he still recorded an assist and a goal, with the latter extending his lead in the World Cup top goalscorer charts.

He's found the back of the net eight times so far, one clear of Norway's Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe of France.