What happened in the first half of the Argentina vs Egypt World Cup match? | | World Cup 2026

Egypt scored a goal and saved Messi’s goal to keep the reigning champions out of Atlanta.

Yasser Ibrahim’s glorious header in the 15th minute put Egypt ahead of Argentina in the first half of their match. round of 16 matcheswhile the reigning champions of the world are following for the first time in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Ibrahim scored from Marwan Attia’s corner, making it his second international goal, which left Argentina fans stunned at the Atlanta Stadium.

The internationals were denied a chance to come back in style when Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved Messi from the top left corner.

It was Messi’s second penalty miss of the tournament so far; had he scored, it would have been his eighth goal of the tournament and his 21st in six games.

Shobeir’s heroics continued when they denied Mac Allister a chance to equalize from Rodrigo De Paul’s right winger.

Egypt began to frustrate Messi after his left-hander from the right side of the box went wide and into the top corner.

Shobeir pulled off another stunning save, this time getting down to his left to get a hand on Julian Alvarez’s first-time shot from Nicolas Tagliafico’s close-range cut and turn inches wide of the post. The manager needs a place to heal when stretched.