The evening World Cup 2026 schedule (Kyiv time) delivered one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament today. Argentina came back from two goals down to beat Egypt 3:2 in the Round of 16 — three goals in the final 13 minutes made this comeback one of the most stunning in World Cup history.
Argentina vs Egypt 3:2 (Atlanta, kick-off 19:00 Kyiv time)
Egypt opened the scoring as early as the 15th minute: Yasser Ibrahim headed home a cross from Marwan Attia to beat Emiliano Martínez. Argentina responded with a penalty, but Messi failed to convert — goalkeeper Mustafa Shobair saved the shot. On 67 minutes, Mustafa Zico finished a lightning counter-attack involving Mohamed Salah to make it 2:0 — Egypt were one step away from a sensational upset.
But on 79 minutes, Cristian Romero pulled one back. Four minutes later, Messi made amends for his penalty miss — his left-footed shot inside the box deflected off the goalkeeper's hand, hit the crossbar, and crossed the line: 2:2. Then, in the 90+3rd minute, Lautaro Martínez set up Enzo Fernández, who headed home the winning goal on the counter-attack.
Goalscorers: Yasser Ibrahim (15', Egypt), Mustafa Zico (67', Egypt), Cristian Romero (79', Argentina), Lionel Messi (83', Argentina), Enzo Fernández (90'+3, Argentina).
Tournament implications: Argentina advance to the quarter-finals and will face the winner of the Switzerland vs Colombia tie in Kansas City on July 12. Messi scored his eighth goal of the tournament and leads the top scorers' chart, also setting a personal record of 21 World Cup goals across his career. Read more about the 2026 World Cup schedule (Kyiv time) for the Argentina vs Egypt and Switzerland vs Colombia ties in our dedicated article.
Now in progress: Switzerland vs Colombia
At 23:00 Kyiv time, the second match of the day kicked off in Vancouver — Switzerland against Colombia. This is the final Round of 16 fixture at the 2026 World Cup, with the winner joining Argentina in the quarter-finals. A full recap will be available in the morning digest. The complete 2026 World Cup schedule (Kyiv time): quarter-finals and remaining Round of 16 matches is available on our website.
Evening context
Today's match concluded the Round of 16, which ran from July 4 to 7. Morocco, France, Norway, England, Spain, and Belgium have already secured their quarter-final spots. Read about the overnight Round of 16 matches involving Spain, Belgium, and their opponents in our article "Spain and Belgium in the quarter-finals: the Round of 16 night at the 2026 World Cup".
See also: All 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup: every participant
Photo: NBC News · Editorial (source)
