François Letexier was in charge as Argentina produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the World Cup 2026, overturning a 2-0 deficit to beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals. The champions were still two goals behind with 10 minutes left in normal time, yet in a quarter of an hour they transformed the game completely.
The scale of the turnaround was summed up by Le Figaro, which described Argentina as “miraculous” after they won by turning the match around in 15 minutes. It was a result that underlined both Argentina’s quality and their ability to keep going when the pressure was at its highest.
Messi drags Argentina back into the tie
The first sign of life came in the 79th minute, when Romero scored with a header to reduce the gap. Then Lionel Messi, who has now reached eight goals in this World Cup and nine assists, struck with an unstoppable half-volley in the 84th minute to make it 2-2. Le Figaro captured the moment with a simple verdict on the equaliser: “BUUUUUUUUUTTTTTT DE L’ARGENTINE !!!!!! MEEEESSSSIIIII !!! (84e, 2-2)”.
That goal changed everything. What had looked like a defeat for the Albiceleste suddenly became a match they could still win, and the momentum was now firmly with the champions.
Enzo Fernández completes the comeback
Argentina did not stop there. In the 92nd minute, Enzo Fernández scored the winner to complete the turnaround and seal a 3-2 victory. Again, Le Figaro’s live reaction reflected the moment: “BUUUUUUUUUTTTTT DE L’AAARGGEENNNTTTIIIINNNEEE !!!! (92e, 3-2)”.
It meant that Argentina had gone from 2-0 down to victory in the space of a quarter of an hour, a collapse from Egypt’s point of view and a huge escape for Scaloni’s side. For a champion, it is the kind of night that can define a tournament run.
François Letexier and the late-match chaos
The closing stages were not calm. At the 95th minute, François Letexier handed out several yellow cards as the match became increasingly chaotic. That added to the tension, but the key storyline had already been written by Argentina’s late surge.
For Egypt, the defeat will be hard to take after leading by two goals so late. For Argentina, the message is much more encouraging: even when the game looked gone, they had the response, the quality and the belief to turn it around. That is why they are moving on to the quarter-finals, while Egypt are left to wonder how a place in the last eight slipped away.
