Argentina rallies past Egypt 3-2, Messi's last World Cup continues

Argentina's late comeback

Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 until the 79th minute in their round of 16 match in Atlanta. Cristian Romero pulled one back in the 79th minute, Lionel Messi equalized in the 83rd, and Enzo Fernandez scored the winner in stoppage time (90+3) to complete a 3-2 victory. The defending champions had also needed extra time to beat Cape Verde in the previous round.

Without exaggerating or pretending we've reached a final, the importance of this day is comparable to so many other great moments we've lived.

Messi's emotional milestone

Lionel Messi, 39, contributed a goal and an assist in the comeback. After the final whistle, he was in tears, later explaining it was "a bit of joy, relief, because we wanted to stay and it couldn't end today, we didn't want to leave." Teammate Lautaro Martinez revealed that this is Messi's last World Cup. Messi now has 21 career World Cup goals, surpassing Miroslav Klose's 16 to become the all-time top scorer. Kylian Mbappé, with 19 goals, faces Morocco in the quarterfinals on July 9.

He is impressive. I told him on the pitch that he deserves it for the person he is, for what he brings to the team, because it's his last World Cup and because he's our leader.

Switzerland advances on penalties

In Vancouver, Switzerland and Colombia played a goalless draw. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved a penalty from Cucho Hernandez in the shootout, and Ruben Vargas converted the decisive kick to send Switzerland to its first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954.

Quarterfinal matchups set

Argentina will face Switzerland on July 12 for a place in the semifinals. The other quarterfinal on that side of the bracket features France against Morocco on July 9. Egypt's coach Hossam Hassan criticized the refereeing and said he would not watch any more World Cup matches.