Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah, two of the finest number 10s of their generation, will finally share a World Cup pitch on Tuesday when Argentina take on Egypt in the Round of 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM local time (16:00 GMT), with a quarter-final date against either Switzerland or Colombia waiting for the winner.
For Argentina, this is well-trodden ground. The reigning champions have reached this stage of the World Cup at every edition since 2002, and Lionel Scaloni’s side arrive as heavy favourites to extend that run. For Egypt, though, there is no comparable history to lean on. The Pharaohs have never won a World Cup knockout match, and their run to the last 16 already marks their best showing since making their tournament debut back in 1934.
Argentina topped Group K with three wins from three, brushing aside Algeria, Jordan and Austria before a 1-1 draw with Cabo Verde in their final group game. The Round of 32 told a very different story. Cabo Verde, appearing at their first ever World Cup, twice fought back to level the tie and pushed Argentina all the way to extra time before a 111th-minute own goal finally settled it 3-2 in the champions’ favour. It was the first genuine scare Scaloni’s side has faced all summer, and it exposed some defensive fragility that Egypt will have taken note of.
Egypt’s path has been just as dramatic. They finished second in Group G on five points, drawing with Belgium and Iran either side of a win over New Zealand, before beating Australia on penalties in the Round of 32 following a tense 1-1 draw. Salah converted a composed Panenka in the shootout, and Egypt’s players held their nerve from twelve yards to book a place in the history books.
Remarkably, this will be the first World Cup meeting between the two nations. Their only previous encounters came in a 2008 friendly, which Argentina won 2-0 through goals from Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso, and a 6-0 Argentina victory at the 1928 Olympics. Neither result carries much weight given how long ago they came, but the head-to-head record does at least confirm that Egypt have never beaten a South American side in any competitive setting.
Team news and fitness concerns
Scaloni has a handful of fitness issues to monitor before kickoff, though none appear serious. Facundo Medina was withdrawn late against Cabo Verde but the issue has been described as cramp rather than anything more concerning, while Nahuel Molina carries a minor knock of his own. Nicolas Tagliafico and Gonzalo Montiel are both ready to deputise if needed. Winger Nicolas Gonzalez remains a doubt with an ankle problem picked up earlier in the tournament.
Egypt’s situation is more precarious. Left-back Karim Hafez was forced off in the win over Australia but has since trained and looks set to be available, which is just as well given the alternative is Ahmed Fatouh, who is understood to be close to ruled out with a thigh injury of his own. Centre-back Mohamed Abdelmonem, who missed the Australia match after picking up an ankle injury in the group stage, remains a doubt as well. Losing two first-choice defenders on the same side of the pitch would be a significant blow against a front line as sharp as Argentina’s.
Predicted lineups
Argentina (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Medina; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Thiago Almada; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez
Scaloni looks likely to stick with the same group that ground out victory over Cabo Verde, with Julian Alvarez the main alternative to Lautaro Martinez up front should the Inter forward tire early again. Romero and Lisandro Martinez continue as the preferred centre-back pairing, while Enzo Fernandez is expected to shrug off some uncertainty over his club future to take his place in midfield alongside De Paul and Mac Allister.
Egypt (4-2-3-1): Mostafa Shoubir; Mohamed Hany, Ramy Rabia, Karim Hafez, Ahmed Fatouh; Marwan Atteya, Hamdy Fathy; Mohamed Salah, Emam Ashour, Mostafa Zico; Omar Marmoush
Hossam Hassan is expected to set his side up defensively, leaning on the double pivot of Atteya and Fathy to protect the back four while Salah and Marmoush look to punish Argentina in transition. If either Hafez or Fatouh fails to prove their fitness, expect a reshuffle across the Egyptian back line.
Key talking points
Messi’s pursuit of the Golden Boot. The Argentina captain has scored in every match this tournament and sits on seven goals, level with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland at the top of the scoring charts. A goal against Egypt would put him outright top of the Golden Boot race and add to a summer in which he has already broken his own World Cup goal-involvement record.
Salah’s redemption arc. Released by Liverpool at the end of last season, Salah has used this World Cup to remind everyone what he’s still capable of. He has created 16 chances across four matches, the joint-highest tally in the competition, and his cool finish from the spot against Australia showed he still has nerve when it matters. Stopping him one-on-one, particularly against an aggressive marker like Romero, will be central to Argentina’s game plan.
Can Egypt repeat the Cabo Verde blueprint? Argentina’s defence looked shaky for long stretches against Cabo Verde, conceding twice and needing an own goal to survive. Egypt will hope to sit compact, absorb pressure and hurt Argentina on the counter through Salah and Marmoush in much the same way Cabo Verde so nearly did. Whether Egypt’s attack has the firepower to actually finish those chances, unlike their South American predecessors, is the bigger question.
History on the line for African football. Should Egypt cause an upset, they would become only the fifth African nation to reach a World Cup quarter-final, joining Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002), Ghana (2010) and Morocco, who have now done it twice. It would also be a historic first World Cup knockout win for the Pharaohs, and a result that would reverberate well beyond Egyptian football.
Prediction
On paper, and in practice, this is one of the more lopsided pairings left in the competition. Argentina have the pedigree, the depth and, in Messi, the single most in-form player at the tournament. Egypt have shown they can grind out results and hold their nerve under pressure, but their route to goal outside of Salah’s individual brilliance remains limited. Expect a cagier, tighter contest than the scoreline might eventually suggest, with Argentina’s class proving decisive somewhere in the second half.
Score prediction: Argentina 2-0 Egypt
