The defending champions produced a remarkable comeback on Tuesday night after falling two goals behind against a determined Egyptian side, eventually securing a place in the quarter-finals.
The match appeared to be slipping away from Argentina after Egypt took control early, with Nasser Ibrahim opening the scoring before Messi missed a penalty that could have brought his side back into the contest.
The spot-kick failure marked Messi’s second missed penalty of the tournament and left Argentina under increased pressure as Egypt continued to threaten.
The situation worsened when Mostafa Zico doubled Egypt’s lead after finishing a quick counter-attacking move, putting the South American giants on the brink of elimination.
However, Argentina responded with the resilience that has defined their recent success. Cristian Romero reduced the deficit before Messi redeemed himself by scoring the equaliser, setting the stage for Enzo Fernandez to complete the comeback with the winning goal.
The victory sparked an emotional reaction from Messi at the final whistle, with the Argentina captain breaking down in tears after helping his team secure another major milestone in the tournament.
Explaining the moment, Messi said he felt personally responsible for placing additional pressure on his teammates after his missed penalty.
“I cried because I felt that I let my teammates down, because of the penalty I missed… and the way I took it,” Messi said.
“But thankfully once again, God had something special for me in the end. I’m very happy.”
The result keeps Argentina’s title defence alive as they advance to the quarter-finals, where they will continue their pursuit of another World Cup triumph under coach Lionel Scaloni.
For Messi, the dramatic turnaround against Egypt represented another memorable chapter in his international career, combining personal disappointment with eventual redemption on football’s biggest stage.