Egypt appeared to believe they had the game won against Lionel Messi and Argentina, but that was not the case. Egypt was hoping to make history by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time, while Argentina was looking to defend their 2022 World Cup title.
Argentina came into this game hoping they would be the favorite to overcome Egypt in scoring goals. However, Egypt’s strong defensive tactics and fast approach at chasing the ball made Argentina a much weaker team throughout half of the match.
The game took off with Egypt’s defender Yasser Ibrahim scoring the first goal at the 15th minute to give Egypt a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Argentina was awarded a penalty kick after Egypt forward Haissem Hassan stepped on the right foot of Argentina defender Nicolas Tagliafico, but Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir made the save.
During the second half, Egypt midfielder Mostafa Ziko scored the second goal at the 67th minute for Egypt to lead 2-0. The outcome prompted Argentina to become more aggressive. 11 minutes later, Argentina defender Cristian Romero scored on an assist from Messi to get on the board.
Argentina got a lift from Messi when he scored at the 83rd minute to tie the match 2-2. In the third minute of stoppage time, Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez scored the winning goal to complete “the biggest comeback of this world cup” giving Argentina a 3-2 victory and advancing the team to the next round.
One of the biggest talking points from the Argentina-Egypt match was a goal by Ziko that was ruled out during the second half after a VAR review determined a foul had occurred. The decision sparked controversy because the foul was called while Argentina was on the attack, leading some to question whether VAR overstepped its role.
Although Argentina was tested by Egypt, they dominated many of the match’s statistics. Argentina finished with 21 shots, including seven shots on goal, and 58% possession. Egypt had four shots on goal and 42% possession.
Some of Argentina’s weaknesses throughout this World Cup were exposed in this match. They struggled to maintain a lead, creating a lack of comeback momentum. Some of their previous matches have been against high pressure teams, leading them to winning close call games, similar to their previous knockout-round match against Cape Verde that went to extra time, with Argentina winning 3-2.
Argentina will face Switzerland after their win against Colombia on Saturday, July 11, with kickoff at 6 p.m. PT. For its next World Cup match, Argentina may need to adjust its tactics and make more substitutions throughout the match. By shifting from a standard positional build-up to increased player rotation and width, they can better exploit open spaces.
