The 2026 World Cup is witnessing the final chapter in the international career of many legends. Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah are two names among them.
At the age of 39, Messi continues to shine when scoring 7 goals in just 5 matches, helping Argentina advance to the round of 16 and stand before the opportunity to become the first team in 64 years to successfully defend the World Cup title.
However, Argentina's journey was not easy at all. The defending champion was almost eliminated by Cabo Verde in the round of 32 after a difficult match, thereby revealing gaps in the defense that opponents could completely exploit.
That is the basis for Egypt to expect to create a surprise, with the biggest hope named Salah. This is also likely the last World Cup of the former Liverpool striker. Although not exploding in number of goals, Salah still made a great contribution to helping Egypt win a knockout match for the first time at the World Cup when successfully executing a panenka-style penalty against Australia.
However, Salah's performance also raises many questions. Against Australia, he was almost isolated and did not create much influence when the opponent's defense focused on blocking the familiar operating area.
That is also the problem that once happened to Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portuguese shirt. When the whole team is too focused on bringing the ball to the feet of the biggest star, the playing style becomes predictable and creates conditions for the opponent to neutralize.
Egypt is facing a similar risk. Salah is still central in all attacking options, making it easy for opponents to arrange people to mark him and limit his influence.
Statistics also show that Salah has not really made a difference in big matches. In 11 finals or decisive matches, he has only scored 2 goals and both came from penalties.
The difference between Salah and Messi lies in the way they influence the match. While Salah often clung to the right wing to wait for opportunities, Messi continuously retreated deep to connect his playing style, moved into the center and appeared in many different areas to stretch the opponent's defense system.
That flexibility helps Messi always create space for himself and his teammates, even when closely marked.
If he wants to help Egypt create an earthquake against Argentina, Salah will need to change his playing style. Moving wider, participating more in the ball circulation process instead of just waiting for the ball on the right flank, could be the key to breaking the defense system of the defending champion.
The confrontation in Atlanta is therefore not only a showdown between Argentina and Egypt, but also a test of whether Salah can adapt and make a difference in the way Messi is still doing at the top of the World Cup.
The match between Argentina - Egypt takes place at 11:00 PM on July 7 (Vietnam time).
