Messi's Fitness in Doubt as Argentina Faces Egypt After Extra-Time Win

Lionel Messi will be checked right up to kick-off as Argentina stagger from a wild extra-time win over Cape Verde into a World Cup last‑16 tie with Egypt in Atlanta.

The 39-year-old captain finished the full 120 minutes of a draining 3-2 victory in Miami despite suffering a head knock after a collision, and the medical team will monitor him closely before the holders name their side.

He did what he so often does, though. Messi struck first at the Hard Rock Stadium, breaking Cape Verde’s resistance on 29 minutes and seemingly steering Lionel Scaloni’s side towards a routine passage into the quarter-finals.

It was anything but routine.

Cape Verde, written off before a ball was kicked, dragged the champions into a dogfight. Deroy Duarte hauled them level to force extra time, and suddenly the night turned anxious for the defending kings of the world.

Lautaro Martínez briefly restored order, pouncing in the second minute of extra time to put Argentina back in front. The relief was loud, almost defiant. The tie felt settled.

It wasn’t.

Sidny Lopes Cabral struck again for the underdogs, another shock to Argentine nerves as the clock ticked towards penalties. The world champions, who so often control these occasions, were now clinging on.

The pressure finally told at the other end. In the 111th minute, Diney turned into his own net, the cruel twist that spared Argentina from the lottery of a shootout and pushed them, battered but alive, into the last eight and a date with Egypt in Georgia.

Scaloni left Miami with more than just a scare on the scoreboard. Facundo Medina, heavily involved on both sides of the ball, limped off in the second half. The initial fear of a muscular problem eased when the head coach confirmed it was cramp.

“He finished very tired because we also used him quite a bit in attack,” Scaloni said. “He ended up cramping, but he’s okay.”

That will come as a relief for a coach who has largely locked in his preferred XI for this tournament and has little desire to tinker now the stakes are rising.

Emi Martínez, the Aston Villa goalkeeper, remains the immovable presence between the posts. In front of him, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez anchor the back four, a rugged, familiar pairing that has become the spine of Scaloni’s defensive plan.

The shape is a disciplined 4-4-2, but not a conservative one. Rodrigo De Paul and Thiago Almada, both natural central midfielders, patrol the flanks. De Paul drives and harries, Almada drifts and creates from that No10’s imagination starting wide.

And then there is the front line. Messi, still the reference point for everything Argentina do, partners Lautaro Martínez, whose extra-time strike against Cape Verde underlined why he remains first choice. On the bench sits Atlético Madrid’s unsettled forward Julián Álvarez, a luxury option rather than a guaranteed starter in this side.

So Argentina roll into Atlanta bruised, relieved, and still led by their No10 — provided he passes the final checks. The champions have survived their first real scare. Egypt now wait to ask the next hard question.