Messi Tears Up After Argentina Stuns Egypt 3-2
Argentina's Lionel Messi scored and assisted in a 3-2 World Cup comeback win over Egypt on July 7, with the captain later revealing his emotional tears stemmed from missing a crucial penalty he believed would have changed the match's outcom
Lionel Messi, Argentina's captain, revealed why he wept after the defending champions' thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 on July 7. Despite trailing 0-2, Argentina mounted an impressive rally.
Messi, who scored one goal and provided one assist, addressed his tears after the final whistle, saying: "I cried because I was very disappointed with the missed penalty and the way I took it. I thought if I'd scored, the game would have ended differently, because we were playing well even though they had scored against us."
"Despite missing the penalty, we still created clear chances. We played well, and ultimately, equalizing and coming back to win was a huge relief. It was liberating, and most importantly, immense joy at still being in this tournament."
"We didn't want to go home, and we didn't want it to end that way. This group deserves to advance. We never gave up."
Messi's performance elevated him to the tournament's leading goalscorer with 8 goals. He also broke the all-time World Cup assist record with 9 assists.
