Argentina captain Lionel Messi has revealed that his emotional reaction after Tuesday’s dramatic World Cup comeback victory over Egypt was driven by guilt over a missed penalty rather than the joy of reaching the quarter-finals.
Argentina recovered from two goals down to defeat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta, with Messi missing a first-half penalty before providing an assist for Cristian Romero, scoring the equaliser, and watching Enzo Fernández net the winning goal deep into stoppage time.
Messi explains emotional reaction
Speaking after the match, Messi said the missed penalty remained on his mind throughout the game.
“I cried because I felt that I let my teammates down because of the penalty I missed… and the way I took it.
“But thankfully, once again, God had something special for me in the end. I’m very happy,” he said.
The Argentina captain added that the team’s determination kept their World Cup dream alive.
“We didn’t want and didn’t deserve to go home. We could not let it end like that.
“This group really deserved to keep going. We never give up, at all. Never,” Mr Messi said.
Argentina’s dramatic comeback
Mr Messi’s penalty was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 20th minute, shortly after Yasser Ibrahim had given Egypt the lead.
Egypt doubled their advantage through Mostafa Zico, putting the African side firmly in control.
However, Argentina mounted a remarkable comeback as Mr Messi assisted Mr Romero’s goal before scoring the equaliser himself in the 83rd minute.
Mr Fernández then completed the turnaround with a stoppage-time winner to send the defending champions into the last eight.
Golden Boot race
Messi’s equaliser was his eighth goal of the tournament, moving him back to the top of the Golden Boot standings ahead of France captain Kylian Mbappé and Norway striker Erling Haaland.
The goal also extended his record of scoring in six consecutive FIFA World Cup knockout matches.
Overcome with emotion at the final whistle, Messi celebrated Argentina’s remarkable escape from elimination.
Argentina will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on 11th in Kansas City.
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