Messi couldn’t contain his emotions when the final whistle sounded as Argentina staged a stunning comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16. After watching old rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar crash out of the competition in previous games, the Inter Miami star shed tears of joy as the defending champions sealed their place in the quarter-finals.When the final whistle sounded and Argentina’s victory over Egypt was confirmed, he released all his nerves and burst into tears, as if he hadn’t won everything in football, as if nothing else mattered, and as if this was the first time.This game has it all. With just over ten minutes left in regular time, Argentina fell behind 2-0, suffering one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Then Messi took over. He assisted Christian Romero’s header to make the score 2-1. He scored just four minutes later, a clinical finish that made him the first player ever to score in six consecutive World Cup knockout games. Then in stoppage time, Lautaro Martinez passed in and Enzo Fernandez scored with a header, completing the reversal and leaving the football world speechless.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi reacts after a come-from-behind win over Egypt in the World Cup last 16. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Lautaro Martinez summed it up perfectly after the game. “He deserves to cry,” he said of Messi. “Because he is our role model, our guide, and the person who helps us the most.”For Messi, the image of his stirring celebration will become the defining moment of this World Cup, showing that even after his huge success, the desire to win with his country remains as strong as ever.Ronaldo cried after defeat in Dallas 24 hours ago. The night before, Neymar cried in defeat during the game in New Jersey. Messi cried in victory on Tuesday in Atalanta, and the difference between those two tears tells you everything about him standing above everyone else at this moment.The dream of back-to-back World Cups remains. Messi is still alive. And the image of the greatest football player of all time lying flat on the grass in Atlanta, with tears streaming down his face, has become a photograph throughout the championship.
