Lionel Messi’s Late-Game Heroics Are Hard To Believe; Not For Zlatan and Henry

Lionel Messi and Argentina’s World Cup title defense couldn’t be ended by Egypt, before the quarterfinals. That’s not how Messi would go out in possibly his final World Cup appearance. Right? 

Yet that reality was slowly sinking in as Egypt extended its lead to 2-0 with Moustafa Ziko’s 67th minute goal.

But somewhere in the back of everyone’s mind there was an inkling of disbelief that Messi and Argentina would once-and-for-all be ousted, and calculated hope that the greatest soccer player of all time would find a way. Because he always does. 

And, of course, Messi proved inevitable once again. 

He led Argentina to an improbable comeback, scoring and assisting goals in the span of four minutes before Enzo Fernández headed home the match-winner in the 90th minute. 

A comeback like that should be once in a lifetime. But FOX Sports’ Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović have seen it before. Because their former FC Barcelona teammate, Messi, makes the impossible seem modern, expected. 

Messi did that over the course of 90 minutes against Egypt as he failed, and then led Argentina back from the dead. 

“He reminded us that hes human,” Henry said. “And then he reminds us again that hes not human … What happened with Leo, is that sometimes — do not wake up the beast.”

When the odds are stacked against Messi, he turns them on their head. 

On Tuesday, as Argentina fell behind, Messi was denied from the penalty spot for the second straight time. But he kept pushing, and came through when Argentina needed him most. In the 79th minute, he lofted in a cross that found Cristian Romero’s head, who knocked it past Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. Then in the 83rd minute, a bouncing ball in the box fell to Messi’s feet, because of course, and he smashed it. Shobeir got a touch on the shot attempt, sending the ball off the bar and into the back of the net. 

“You could see he wanted it when it was 0-2, something changed,” Ibrahimović said. “He took command, he took the ball. He was after something, you could see it. He was on a mission. He will not let go. He did not want to leave this tournament.”

Was there ever really a doubt? 

Not with Messi.

“When they still need him, he raises his game,” Henry said. 

At the ripe age of 39 years old, Messi has played every minute of Argentina’s two 2026 World Cup knockout round games, including an extra-time thriller against Cape Verde on Friday, and Tuesday’s 3-2 comeback against Egypte. That’s a total of 210 minutes plus injury time over the last five days. And Messi delivered his best deeper into each match. 

“He’s just unstoppable,” Henry said. “This is Hollywood stuff. Its almost like when you script that, its a movie that will never happen in real life… This guy writes history with his feet. Its unreal.”

For a moment, Messi’s World Cup story seemed over. But then he reminded everyone it will only conclude on his terms. In the end, the tears streaming down his face after the final whistle were filled with joy as he celebrated with Argentina’s fans.