Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, has revealed why he cried after his side’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt at the 2026 FIFA World Cup was driven by guilt over his missed penalty rather than the joy of reaching the quarter-finals.
The reigning world champions recovered from two goals down to defeat Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Messi missed a first-half penalty before inspiring the comeback by setting up Cristian Romero’s goal, scoring the equaliser and helping Argentina secure a place in the last eight, where they will face Switzerland on July 11 in Kansas City.
Speaking after the match, Messi admitted he felt he had let his teammates down after failing to convert from the penalty spot.
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“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,” Messi said.
The Argentina captain also praised his team’s determination to fight back from a two-goal deficit.
“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,” he stated.
Egypt made the brighter start to the last-16 encounter, with Yasser Ibrahim opening the scoring before Messi’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 20th minute.
Mostafa Zico doubled Egypt’s advantage in the second half, leaving the African side on the verge of a historic quarter-final place.
Argentina responded late in the game, with Romero reducing the deficit before Messi levelled the score in the 83rd minute. Enzo Fernandez then headed home the winning goal deep into stoppage time to complete the comeback.
Messi’s equaliser was his eighth goal of the tournament, moving him back to the top of the Golden Boot standings ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
The goal also extended his record of scoring in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches.
The 39-year-old was visibly emotional at the final whistle in what is widely expected to be his final FIFA World Cup appearance. Argentina will meet Switzerland in the quarter-finals on July 11 in Kansas City.
