Instead of jumping for joy, Argentina opted to throw their best player in the air.
Following the FIFA World Cup defending champions’ stunning 3-2 Round of 16 comeback win over Egypt, Argentina tossed Lionel Messi in the air twice as cheers filled the air at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
It was a memorable moment for Messi, who scored in his sixth straight World Cup knockout match.
Things weren’t always going right for Argentina and it looked like it could be Messi’s last World Cup coming to an early end.
Egypt was leading 2-0 into the closing moments of the match and Messi had previously missed a chance to equalize with a penalty kick in the first half.
It was his second missed penalty kick of the international spectacle, and he is the only one to do so in the same edition of the World Cup. His first came in a missed shot during a 2-0 win over Austria, but he scored both goals in the victory.
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Yet, Messi had his revenge in the second half when he found Cristian Romero on a cross ball for a goal in the 79th minute.
Only four minutes later, he scored a goal himself, the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing down, to tie the game at 2-all.
The shocking turnaround came when Enzo Fernandez placed a header into the net in just the second minute of stoppage time for the winner.
The match marked the first time in World Cup history that a team won a knockout game in regulation time after trailing by two goals in the 75th minute.
It was an emotional win for Messi, 39, who has not yet said if 2026 will be his last World Cup.
He has appeared in six World Cups, the only player to do so except Cristiano Ronaldo, who announced his World Cup finale after Portugal fell to Spain 1-0 on Monday.
Messi and Argentina are chasing a back-to-back title, which would be a first since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
After punching their ticket to the quarterfinals, they will face either Colombia or Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday.
