Argentina produce epic World Cup fightback to beat Egypt, reach quarters
ATLANTA: Argentina staged a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to avoid a stunning exit at the hands of Egypt and prolong Lionel Messi's World Cup career with a 3-2 win to reach the quarter-finals. The holders looked down and out when goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko, either side of Messi having a penalty saved, put the Pharaohs in sight of a historic victory in Atlanta. However, Cristian Romero's header sparked the comeback as Argentina struck three times in the final 11 minutes plus stoppage time. Messi smashed home the equaliser to score for a ninth consecutive World Cup game and retake the lead for the Golden Boot with eight this tournament. Enzo Fernandez completed the turnaround with a superb header two minutes into stoppage time. At the end, Messi shed tears of joy as he embraced his teammates. Egypt were left furious after a number of controversial calls went against them, including a disallowed goal early in the second half, and a member of their coaching staff was red-carded in the aftermath of the winning goal. But despite a second almighty scare against African opposition, Argentina will face either Colombia or Switzerland in the last eight on Saturday.
