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Messi Breaks Down in Tears on the Pitch for the First Time

In Messi’s World Cup matches, perhaps no game has ever stirred the king of football’s emotions like this one. If, 12 years ago, the final slip that came with missing out on the trophy left Messi with a sorrowful silhouette, then in the Round of 16 this morning—when there was a three-goal comeback to overturn Egypt—Messi was so moved that tears streamed down his face. In the king’s sixth World Cup journey, this was a particularly morale-boosting passage.

It has to be said that Egypt played in their own style, even fully bringing their hallmark of rapid counterattacks into full play. Especially the second goal: it was almost lightning-fast. Egypt sent the ball into Argentina’s penalty area, and then delivered a fatal blow. And that left Argentina with less than half an hour.

At that moment, Messi glanced at the scoreboard on the big screen: 0-2. Such a harsh situation isn’t something he hasn’t encountered in his football career, but on the stage of a World Cup knockout match, pulling off an extreme comeback is difficult beyond imagination—an even seemingly impossible task. What’s more, he had previously missed a penalty as well. If Argentina were eliminated from there, what kind of criticism would he, as the team leader, have to face?

But the miracle unfolded at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Argentina first pulled one back—Romero headed in a Messi cross from inside the box. Then, in a surge of consecutive attacks, Messi, inside the penalty area, did not let the ball touch the ground and volleyed it in to level the score. The most astonishing moment came in the 2nd minute of stoppage time: Enzo met a teammate’s cross with a header to score, and the defending champions brought themselves back from the edge, going from being down 2 to winning 3. It is worth noting that Enzo’s match-winning goal was the 3000th goal in World Cup history.

When the final whistle blew, Messi’s face was no longer calm and composed. Hot tears flowed from his eyes. The king raised both arms, waving continuously toward the stands to celebrate the hard-won comeback. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve cried on the pitch. Because of the match’s course, that feeling was too intense,” Messi explained. “We really went through very difficult moments. We didn’t want to leave. I think it’s a feeling of immense relief… And seeing my family, my fans, and my teammates—I couldn’t help but let out all my emotions.”

Henry, a former French international who served as a match commentator, said the opponent had still underestimated Messi and Argentina: “I’ve played against Messi—you have to remember: never wake the beast inside him. Once he gets into that kind of state, it’s very hard to stop him.”

Since 1938, Argentina has become the first South American team in World Cup history to overturn a two-goal deficit. In the history of Argentine football, this is the first time. After the match, Lautaro said, “I want to dedicate this victory to all Argentines.” Argentina’s head coach Scaloni said, “I want to show a path for those children who want to wear the Argentina shirt.”