Argentina has once again survived by the skin of its teeth.
The defending champions’ World Cup defence will march on after they took down Egypt 3-2 in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.
Down for most of the game, Argentina staged a furious second-half comeback, fuelled by goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to keep its back-to-back dream alive.
It felt like no sure thing for La Albiceleste, as Yasser Ibrahim snatched the lead in the 15th minute and a missed penalty from Messi in the 21st minute felt like bad omens for the champs.
Argentina fell 2-0 down in the 67th minute after Mostafa Ziko finished off a stunning counterattacking sequence for the Egyptians, tapping home a cross from Haissem Hassan, but the defending champs proved their mettle from that point on.
Messi took the game into his own hands, finding Romero with a cross for Argentina’s first goal in the 79th, then firing home a volley in the 84th to tie things up at two apiece.
Then, in stoppage time, Fernandez finished off a counterattack of his own, getting his head on a high cross from Lautaro Martinez.
With the win, Argentina will move on to the World Cup quarterfinals, where a showdown against either Switzerland or Colombia awaits. Those two sides will square off in their Round of 16 game later on Tuesday in Vancouver.