Lionel Messi extended his record by scoring in a ninth straight FIFA World Cup match as Argentina fought back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt 3-2 and keep their title defence alive.
Argentina's captain Lionel Messi continued his monumental streak in the FIFA World Cup 2026, as he extended his record of scoring in a World Cup match to nine successive matches.
Messi came in clutch as Argentina survived a 0-2 deficit and made a sensational comeback with three goals in the remainder of the match as the defending champions kept their back-to-back World Cup dream alive with a 3-2 win over Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta.
Key Points
- Lionel Messi scored in his ninth consecutive FIFA World Cup match, extending his all-time record.
- Messi now has 21 World Cup goals, extending his record as the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
- The Argentina captain has now scored in six successive World Cup knockout matches, another tournament first.
Messi is now the first-ever player to score in nine successive FIFA World Cup matches. With his strike in the 83rd minute, he has taken his goal tally in the ongoing FIFA World Cup to eight goals, his most productive World Cup ever in terms of goals and extended his newly-made record of highest goals in the tournament's history to 21 goals.
Messi is now the first-ever player in the tournament's history to score in six successive knockout stage matches.
With eight goals, he is now level with Guillermo Stabile (1930) for most goals in a single FIFA World Cup edition by an Argentina player.
The talismanic Messi inspired Argentina to a remarkable World Cup fightback as they came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in a dramatic last-16 game on Tuesday before sobbing tears of relief at the final whistle.
The holders were trailing 2-0 and 11 minutes from a shock defeat, but goals by Cristian Romero, Messi and two minutes into stoppage time from Enzo Fernandez kept them in the competition.
Egypt had been on the brink of one of the great World Cup upsets after Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico scored excellent goals, one in each half, and Messi had squandered an early penalty.
The North Africans fell apart in the closing stages, however, as the 39-year-old Messi orchestrated Argentina's dramatic revival.
The captain provided the cross from which Romero headed home to start the comeback in the 79th minute and four minutes later Messi crashed home the equaliser after substitutes Lautaro Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel had both got vital touches to keep the ball away from Egyptian defenders.
The winner came from a counter-attack as Lautaro Martinez crossed from the right and Fernandez cushioned a back-post header past goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir.
