Egypt has made two adjustments to their lineup following their penalty shootout triumph against Australia. Haissem Hassan steps in for Omar Marmoush as a forward, while Mohanad Lasheen joins the midfield, replacing Hamdy Fathy.
In contrast, Argentina has opted for three changes after their dramatic 3-2 extra-time win over Cape Verde. Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, and Julian Alvarez will replace Facundo Medina, Thiago Almada, and Lautaro Martínez.
Here’s Argentina’s starting lineup: Emiliano Martinez, Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Tagliafico, De Paul, Paredes, Mac Allister, Fernandez, Messi, and Alvarez. The substitutes include Musso, Rulli, Senesi, Montiel, Barco, Lo Celso, Palacios, Gonzalez, Almada, Simeone, Paz, Otamendi, Lopez, Lautaro Martinez, and Medina.
For Egypt, the starting eleven features Shobeir, Hany, Rabia, Ibrahim, Hafez, Ashour, Attia, Lasheen, Hassan, Salah, and Ziko. Their bench includes 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 faced each other only twice. The most recent encounter saw La Albiceleste secure a 2-0 win in a friendly held in Cairo back in 2008, with Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso netting goals. Lionel Messi missed that match due to injury, which renders it less significant compared to their 1928 Olympic meeting, where Argentina triumphed 6-0.
Egypt’s journey through the group stage was a challenging one. They managed a solid draw against Belgium, followed by a victory over New Zealand, and a nail-biting draw against Iran.
Having won their opening match in the World Cup, Egypt then achieved their first knockout phase victory. This pivotal moment was made memorable when Mo Salah executed a Power Panenka.
Argentina, the reigning champions, navigated their group with relative ease, thanks to Lionel Messi’s impressive performances in wins over Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
However, the challenge intensified in the next round. Messi is undoubtedly a World Cup icon, and so is Sidny Lopes Cabral, albeit in a different context.
This match serves as a reminder of how the tournament started and offers an opportunity to revisit both teams.
The matchup between Messi and Salah is a simplistic way to frame this encounter. Nevertheless, it is indeed Messi versus Salah. While one might expect Argentina to dominate, as evidenced by their previous match against Cape Verde, surprises can happen.
Even without being on the field, the underdog spirit from that game lingers. As such, one can never be too certain. The odds favor Argentina advancing to face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarter-finals. Yet, that very uncertainty is why everyone must remain engaged as the match approaches. Kick-off is scheduled for 12pm EDT/5pm BST. It’s game time!
- World Cup 2026
- World Cup
- Argentina
- Egypt football team
