Overview
Argentina will face Egypt in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup with the expectation of continuing their journey to conquer the championship, and at the same time helping Lionel Messi extend his impressive record streak at the biggest playground on the planet.
Coach Lionel Scaloni's team just overcame Cabo Verde with a score of 3-2 after a dramatic match. Messi opened the score before Argentina lost the advantage twice, but Diney Borges' own goal after Cristian Romero's header brought home a ticket to the next round.
The goal against Cabo Verde helped Messi increase his total goals at the 2026 World Cup to 7. He became the first player to score at least 7 goals in two different World Cups.
However, the top scorer race is still very fierce when Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have also reached the milestone of 7 goals after the round of 16.
If he continues to score against Egypt, Messi will equal the record of 8 goals in a World Cup of legend Guillermo Stabile at the tournament in 1930. At the same time, the 39-year-old superstar will also become the sixth player in history to score in 5 consecutive matches at a World Cup.
Besides the joy of victory, Argentina also faces many worries about fitness. Facundo Medina left the field due to cramps in the match against Cabo Verde, while Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Gonzalez both had to endure the pain and play until the end of the match because the team had used up their substitutions.
However, Argentina's attack still maintains very high form. The Tango team has scored at least 2 goals in 10 consecutive World Cup matches and has the opportunity to equal Uruguay's record of 11 consecutive matches scoring 2 or more goals in the period 1930-1954.
On the opposite side, Egypt qualified for the round of 16 after defeating Australia in a penalty shootout. The African representative is still unbeaten at the 2026 World Cup and is aiming to become the fifth African team in history to reach the quarter-finals.
Mohamed Salah is Egypt's biggest hope. Despite having a hamstring problem before the match against Australia, the Liverpool striker still played the full 120 minutes and successfully converted the decisive penalty.
Salah has currently created 16 chances at the 2026 World Cup and is only two chances behind Kevin-Prince Boateng's record. If Egypt creates a surprise against Argentina, they will face Switzerland or Colombia in the quarter-finals.
Head-to-head record
This is the first time Argentina and Egypt have met in the biggest arena on the planet.
Previously, the two teams had only met once in history. In a friendly match held in Cairo in 2008, Argentina won 2-0 thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso. Messi did not participate in this match due to injury.
History is also on the side of the South American team when Argentina has won all 8 recent matches against African representatives at the World Cup.
Score prediction: Argentina 2-0 Egypt
The match between Argentina and Egypt takes place at 11:00 PM on July 7 (Vietnam time).
