There are athletes who run on fumes and there are athletes who run on fumes and then come back from 2-0 down against Egypt in the round of 16 in Atlanta to score their 21st World Cup goal and send Argentina to the quarterfinals, and Lionel Messi, who is 39 years old and said “I’m tired and I’m running on fumes” after Argentina’s group stage win over Austria, is the second kind.
Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 Tuesday night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, with the tournament looking like it might produce the specific ending that Messi’s career did not deserve and which the Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir was audibly planning. Shobeir had already blocked a Messi penalty, Messi’s second missed penalty of this tournament after he also failed from the spot against Austria, and saved a shot from Julian Alvarez from close range. Argentina looked, per HuffPost, “down and out.” Cristian Romero scored a header in the 79th minute to make it 2-1. Messi scored in the 83rd to make it 2-2, his 21st World Cup goal, a record that has stood alone since he broke Miroslav Klose’s mark of 16 in the group stage. Enzo Fernandez scored in stoppage time to make it 3-2. Argentina are in the quarterfinals.
Messi said after the Austria match, before any of this happened: “I’m tired and I’m running on fumes. But I’m enjoying this moment and looking forward to being with my teammates.” He said this after scoring twice against Austria and surpassing Klose to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. He then played the Egypt match. He then scored the equalizer from 2-0 down. The fumes are doing substantial work.
He plays Switzerland on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, at 9 p.m. ET. Switzerland eliminated Colombia on penalties in the round of 16 in Vancouver, winning 4-3 in a shootout after a 0-0 draw. Switzerland did not concede a goal in 120 minutes against a Colombia side that included the tournament’s leading creator Jhon Duran. They are a competent, organized, defensively disciplined team who did not concede to Colombia and will now be asked not to concede to Messi, who is running on fumes and has 21 World Cup goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo is watching from home. He was eliminated by Switzerland in a different round of 16. The debate that has consumed football for two decades has resolved itself, at this tournament, into a simple table: one man is in the quarterfinals with 21 World Cup goals, and the other is watching.
When the greatest footballer alive says he is running on fumes and then scores the goal that sends Argentina through from 2-0 down, what exactly are the fumes made of?
Sources
HuffPost: Lionel Messi Leads Argentina To 3-2 Comeback Victory Over Egypt
HuffPost: 2026 FIFA World Cup Live Updates
GB News: Lionel Messi becomes World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer
GB News: Lionel Messi makes alarming admission after making World Cup history
