Messi inspires Argentina fightback despite another penalty miss

ATLANTA: Lionel Messi missed another penalty but still drove Argentina's comeback as the defending champions recovered from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 and stay alive in the World Cup.

The 39-year-old forward saw his spot-kick saved by Mostafa Shobeir in Tuesday's last-16 tie, and Egypt then moved into a 2-0 lead through Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko with 11 minutes remaining. Argentina, however, mounted a late turnaround, with Messi playing a central role as Lionel Scaloni's side kept their title defence on course.

The miss was Messi's second failed penalty of the tournament after he also sent one wide against Austria in the group stage, making him the only player to miss more than one penalty in a single World Cup. Added to earlier misses against Iceland in 2018 and Poland four years later, he has now failed to convert four penalties at the World Cup. Across his career, Messi has scored 116 times from 150 penalty attempts, a conversion rate of 77 per cent.

The latest setback from the spot echoed one of the most painful moments of his international career, when he missed in the shootout against Chile in the 2016 Copa America Centenario final and then announced his retirement from international football. At that stage, he had not yet won a major title with Argentina and faced criticism at home for not emulating Diego Maradona by leading the country to World Cup success. He reversed that retirement within months.

A decade later, that chapter has largely faded after Messi helped Argentina win two Copa America titles and a third World Cup crown four years ago in Qatar. Against Egypt, he again proved decisive. His cross allowed Cristian Romero to head in and begin the comeback before Messi scored the equaliser himself. The goal meant he has scored in eight straight World Cup matches and taken his total to eight goals in five games at this tournament.

Enzo Fernandez struck the winner as Argentina completed the recovery. After the match, Scaloni praised Messi's reaction to the penalty miss and his determination to keep pushing when his team was trailing.

“To the guys on the bench, the ones watching him in disbelief; I want them to take him as an example. It is truly something wonderful,” said Scaloni.

“Look at his attitude! After the penalty he could have given up — ‘we’re done, it’s 2-0’ — but instead, he asked for the ball again and went for more.”, he stated.

“It gives me goosebumps, honestly, and it’s not just him, I don’t want to focus solely on him because his teammates supported him incredibly well. That is part of what defines this group”, he added.

Even as Argentina advanced, the match again exposed weaknesses in Scaloni's team. According to the reported account of the game, the knockout rounds have highlighted defensive vulnerability on the counter-attack against Cape Verde and Egypt, while the ageing squad has also looked short of energy.

Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals, with a possible semi-final against England to follow. For now, Messi's intervention has ensured the holders remain in contention for a fourth World Cup title.