Lionel Messi revealed his emotional tears after Argentina's 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt were not from joy but from guilt over his missed first-half penalty. The defending champions trailed 2-0 after Yasser Ibrahim's early strike and Mostafa Zico's second goal, with Messi's penalty saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 20th minute. The Argentina captain said he felt he had let his teammates down, adding: "I cried because I felt that I let my teammates down, because of the penalty I missed… and the way I took it."
Despite the setback, Argentina fought back in dramatic fashion. Messi set up Cristian Romero for the first goal before scoring the equaliser in the 83rd minute. Enzo Fernandez then struck in stoppage time to complete the turnaround. Messi's goal marked his eighth in the tournament, putting him top of the Golden Boot race ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. It also extended his record to six consecutive World Cup knockout matches with a goal.
Messi praised his team's resilience, saying: "We didn't want and didn't deserve to go home, we could not let it end like that." He added: "This group really deserved to keep going. We never give up, at all. Never." The win sends Argentina into the quarter-finals, where they will face Switzerland on July 11 in Kansas City. The match in Atlanta marked another dramatic chapter in what is expected to be Messi's final World Cup.
Messi's tears exposed the weight he carries, not just as a scorer but as a man haunted by moments he believes cost his team. He admitted fault over the missed penalty, even though he later delivered the equaliser and an assist. The comeback erased the error, but his immediate focus was on failure, not redemption. This is the burden of being Messi — greatness measured not by comebacks, but by perfection.
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