Lionel Messi in floods of tears after Argentina score THREE in 13 minutes to complete great World Cup escape against Egypt
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Lionel Messi burst into tears of joy after Argentina overcame a major World Cup scare and reached the quarter-finals.
The reigning champions looked set to be eliminated in the last 16 stage as they trailed Egypt 2-0 with 12 minutes left in the second half.
But in one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history, they stunned Egypt by scoring three goals in 13 minutes and set up a quarter-final clash with either Switzerland or Colombia at 2am (BST) on Sunday.
As Argentina blew the final whistle, Messi shed tears of joy and relief that the World Cup would continue until the weekend.
While there were emotional moments from the Argentina squad, Messi was embraced by several of his teammates.
ITV pundits Roy Keane and Gary Neville were quick to react to the scenes unfolding at Atlanta Stadium.
Lionel Messi shed tears of joy and relief after Argentina beat Egypt in the last 16
Messi was emotional when he saw his team come from 2-0 down to beat Egypt 3-2 in the last 16
After Tuesday’s fascinating match, Messi was quickly embraced by his Argentina teammates.
“These are tears of relief, it’s getting so emotional,” Neville said.
‘Them [Argentina] He had an indestructible spirit. They are so attached to that badge, that jersey, playing for their country. HE [Messi] He knows how close they got, that’s why he cries like that.’
Keane agrees: ‘My voice is gone. I loved it. Yesterday [Tuesday] we saw sad tears [Cristiano] Ronaldo. Today we see Messi’s tears of happiness.
‘Them [Argentina] He won’t give up. The quality of his goals was magnificent. Wow. That’s why we love the game. ‘Absolutely gorgeous.’
Argentina fell behind in the first half when Yaser Ibrahim gave Egypt the lead in the 15th minute.
Shortly afterwards, Argentina had the opportunity to restore parity when they were awarded a penalty. Messi took a step forward but his shot was superbly saved by Mostafa Shobeir.
Egypt doubled their lead midway through the second half through Mostafa Zico; Just a few minutes after the goal was disallowed after a VAR check.
Argentina’s comeback began when Sergio Romero headed home in the 79th minute to give the South Americans hope.
Messi’s 83rd-minute equalizer from under the crossbar saw the momentum swing in his side’s favor and this was confirmed once again when Enzo Fernandez sealed their jaw-dropping comeback with a stunning header in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
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