Egypt has made two alterations to their lineup following their tense penalty shootout victory over Australia. Haissem Hassan steps in for Omar Marmoush in the forward position, while Mohanad Lasheen takes over in midfield, replacing Hamdy Fathy.
On the other hand, Argentina has introduced three new faces in their starting lineup after a hard-fought 3-2 extra-time triumph against Cape Verde. Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, and Julian Alvarez have come in for Facundo Medina, Thiago Almada, and Lautaro Martínez.
Argentina’s lineup includes: Emiliano Martinez, Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Tagliafico, De Paul, Paredes, Mac Allister, Fernandez, Messi, and Alvarez. The substitutes are: Musso, Rulli, Senesi, Montiel, Barco, Lo Celso, Palacios, Gonzalez, Almada, Simeone, Paz, Otamendi, Lopez, Lautaro Martinez, and Medina.
For Egypt, the starting players are: Shobeir, Hany, Rabia, Ibrahim, Hafez, Ashour, Attia, Lasheen, Hassan, Salah, and Ziko. Their bench features: El Shenawy, Soliman, Mohamed Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Fathy, Emad, Adel, Saber, Marmoush, Tarek Alaa, and Zizo.
The match will be officiated by referee Francois Letexier from France.
Historically, Argentina and Egypt have only met twice prior to this encounter. The most recent clash saw La Albiceleste secure a 2-0 win in a friendly match held in Cairo back in 2008, with Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso netting the goals, while Lionel Messi was sidelined due to injury. This match bears little significance compared to their 1928 Olympic Games meeting, where Argentina won decisively with a scoreline of 6-0.
Egypt’s journey through the group stage was somewhat turbulent, featuring a resilient draw against Belgium, a win over New Zealand, and a narrow draw against Iran.
After clinching their first group match at the World Cup, Egypt achieved their first-ever knockout stage victory, though it was not particularly memorable—until Mo Salah executed a stunning Power Panenka penalty.
Argentina, the reigning champions, cruised through the group phase, with Lionel Messi leading the charge in impressive victories against Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
However, the subsequent round proved to be more challenging. Messi is undeniably a legend of the World Cup, but in a unique twist, Sidny Lopes Cabral has also carved out his own legacy.
As the match approaches, there’s a chance to revisit the teams and their stories.
Framing this match as merely Messi versus Salah is an overly simplistic approach. Yet, it undeniably is a contest between these two superstars. Although most would anticipate Argentina, led by Messi, to overpower Salah’s Egypt, the match against Cape Verde showed that anything is possible.
Interestingly, Salah wasn’t even on the pitch during that previous match. The underdog spirit from that encounter still resonates, leaving room for surprises. It’s likely Argentina will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarter-finals. Nonetheless, the unpredictability of football means that anything can happen. The match is set to kick off at 12pm EDT/5pm BST. It’s time for action!
- World Cup 2026
- World Cup
- Argentina
- Egypt football team
