Argentina captain, Lionel Messi has revealed that the tears he shed after Tuesday’s dramatic World Cup victory over Egypt were driven by regret over his missed penalty rather than the joy of reaching the quarter-finals.
The defending champions staged a remarkable fightback from two goals down to defeat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta.
Messi endured a difficult first half after failing to convert from the penalty spot, but later inspired Argentina’s comeback by setting up Cristian Romero’s goal, scoring the equaliser and watching Enzo Fernandez net a stoppage-time winner.
Reflecting on the emotional night, Messi admitted the missed penalty haunted him throughout the contest.
“I cried because I felt that I let my teammates down, because of the penalty I missed… and the way I took it.
“But thankfully once again, God had something special for me in the end. I’m very happy,” Messi said.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also praised his teammates’ resilience, insisting they never believed their World Cup journey was over.
“We didn’t want and didn’t deserve to go home, we could not let it end like that.
“This group really deserved to keep going. We never give up, at all. Never,” he stated.
Messi’s penalty was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 20th minute, shortly after Yasser Ibrahim had opened the scoring. Egypt doubled their advantage through Mostafa Zico, leaving Argentina on the brink of elimination.
However, Messi sparked the revival by providing the assist for Romero before finding the net himself in the 83rd minute to level the score.
Fernandez then completed the stunning turnaround with a late winner in stoppage time.
The goal was Messi’s eighth of the tournament, moving him back to the top of the Golden Boot race ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
It also extended his record of scoring in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches.
The Argentina skipper was visibly emotional after the final whistle in what is widely expected to be his final World Cup campaign.
Argentina will now take on Switzerland in the quarter-finals on July 11 in Kansas City.
