Argentina vs. Egypt: Salah Takes on Messi

After an impressive group stage, Argentina had to endure a tough match against Cape Verde in the Round of 32. It wasn't until an own goal by Diony Borges in the 111th minute that Lionel Scaloni's team could secure their advancement. Facing a resilient Cape Verde side, the champion's mentality of the Albiceleste once again shone through.

Argentina continues to prove they are a team that knows how to survive when the World Cup enters its decisive stages. They wait, endure, and know how to strike the decisive blow when their opponents begin to tire.

The Albiceleste are on an 11-match winning streak across all competitions and are hoping to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the World Cup title.

Making it to the Round of 16 with difficulty, however, is a necessary slowdown to prevent the Albiceleste from becoming overly self-deluded. From many perspectives, Egypt is not yet a significant challenge that would prematurely end the title defense of Leo Messi and his teammates.

Argentina's opponent in the Round of 16, Egypt, is writing a special chapter at the 2026 World Cup. After 92 years, the Pharaohs have finally returned to the World Cup's Round of 16.

This team also had a very difficult match in the Round of 32, being dragged into a penalty shootout by Australia after a 1-1 draw following 120 minutes of play.

In this match, Egypt is expected to trouble Argentina with a defensive counter-attacking style. However, the African side faces a major issue: their attacking play still relies too heavily on Salah as an individual, as well as set-piece situations to score goals.

Egypt's defense has also been shaky, conceding at least one goal in six consecutive matches. Facing an Argentina team with Messi and a powerful attack, Egypt will be under immense pressure.

Compared to Argentina, Egypt is clearly inferior. However, given what Messi and his teammates had to endure against Cape Verde, Egypt could also overturn predictions and expectations, potentially causing trouble for Argentina, especially since they are under no significant pressure or high expectations.

The match is highly anticipated as Salah, often called the "Messi of the Arab world," goes head-to-head with the "real" Messi. One is the symbol of the reigning world champions, the other is the soul of an Egypt that has just found its voice again on the biggest stage. This is a highly anticipated clash between two legends, who may be entering their final World Cup of their careers.

Messi and Salah have only faced each other twice before, both in the UEFA Champions League. In 2015, Salah's Roma held Messi's Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in the group stage. In the 2018-2019 Champions League semi-finals, Barcelona beat Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg with a brace from Messi, including a stunning free kick that was his 600th goal for the Catalan club. Liverpool then overturned the tie with a 4-0 win in the second leg, but Salah missed the match due to injury. In head-to-head statistics, Messi is completely dominant. The Argentine superstar scored 2 goals in 2 encounters, while Salah has neither scored nor assisted against Messi's teams.

At this World Cup, Messi continues to set new milestones. In the Round of 16, La Pulga became the first male player to score 7 goals in two different World Cups, while also increasing his goal involvement in knockout stage matches to 12.

Messi is tied for the top scorer spot with 7 goals, having made an impact in 6 of Argentina's 7 matches. Meanwhile, Salah stands out for his creativity with 16 chances created, the most in the tournament, but has only scored 1 goal for Egypt so far.

With stars like Modric (Croatia), Neymar (Brazil), and Ronaldo (Portugal) having already exited the tournament in the Round of 16, the "final dance" between two of the world's top current stars, Messi and Salah, becomes even more meaningful.

The match between Argentina and Egypt will take place at 11:00 PM on July 7.

Expected starting lineups for both teams
Argentina: E. Martinez, Molina, Romero, L. Martinez, Medina, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Messi, Martinez, Almada.
Egypt: Shobeir, Hany, Fathy, Ibrahim, Rabia, Ashour, Lasheen, Ateya, Ziko, Salah, Marmoush.