Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentine national team, expressed his happiness at achieving victory against Egypt despite trailing by two goals.
Lionel Messi
Club: Inter Miami
Egypt's national team bid farewell to the World Cup competitions from the round of 16 after a loss in the dying moments to Argentina.
The Argentine national team turned their two-goal deficit into a 3-2 victory, securing their qualification to the quarter-finals.
Lionel Messi said: "The truth is that I am very happy that we got past this match and in the way we achieved the victory. It was a difficult match, especially after we trailed 2-0, and it is very exciting that we were able to turn the result around again".
He continued, "We suffered a lot again, but this is the World Cup, all matches are very equal, so it doesn't matter, I am very happy".
He stressed, "I think the fighting spirit showed from everyone, because it is not easy to turn the result around after trailing 2-0, but as I always say, this group of players never gives up and fights until the end".
He revealed, "In fact, we were lucky to score Romero's goal and we still had plenty of time and were able to turn the result around in the dying moments".
Messi concluded his statements, "What we achieved today against Egypt was amazing, and I am extremely happy that the fans are still present and enjoying what we are offering, and I hope this success continues".
Egypt's national team took the lead through Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute, and Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the 21st minute, allowing the Pharaohs to seal the first half with a goal to nil.
Mustafa Zico scored a goal in the 58th minute before it was disallowed by the match referee after resorting to video technology due to a foul on Marwan Attia.
Zico succeeded in scoring the second goal after it was counted this time in the 67th minute from a pass by Haitham Hassan.
The Argentine national team snatched the match in the final minutes after Christian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernández scored in succession in the 79th, 83rd, and 92nd minutes respectively.
The Argentine national team advances to face the winner of Switzerland against Colombia in the quarter-finals.
