World Cup Recap: Argentina 3-2 Egypt & Switzerland Beat Colombia

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 wrapped up on Tuesday night with two matches cut from completely different cloth. In Atlanta, Lionel Messi dragged Argentina back from two goals down to sink Egypt 3-2 in a comeback that was equal parts brilliant and controversial, with the officiating leaving a sour taste that won't fade quickly. Over in Vancouver, Switzerland and Colombia played out 120 goalless minutes before the Swiss survived a shootout to reach their first quarterfinal in 72 years.

Here's everything that went down, and what it means for the quarterfinals.

Controversy-Filled Argentina Comeback

For 79 minutes, Egypt were the better team, and it wasn't particularly close. Yasser Ibrahim headed the Pharaohs in front from a corner in the 15th minute, giving Argentina their first taste of trailing at this World Cup. When La Albiceleste won a penalty minutes later, Mostafa Shobeir saved Messi's spot kick, extending one of football's strangest stats: Messi has now missed four of his eight career World Cup penalties and remains the only player to miss two in a single tournament. If you’re betting on football, Messi missing penalties is an exception, not a rule, and it’s been so for the past 20 years, which is why it’s even more shocking.

Egypt should have been further clear by then. With the score at 1-0, Mostafa Ziko finished off a brilliant Salah-created move, only for VAR to chalk the goal off over a foul spotted roughly 20 seconds earlier on the other side of the pitch. Match commentators questioned live whether the intervention even fell within VAR's remit, and the sheer distance between incident and goal makes it one of the most contentious calls of the tournament. Zico did make it 2-0 anyway in the 67th minute, but instead of a potential three-goal cushion, the door stayed ajar.

Argentina barged through it. Messi set up Cristian Romero in the 79th minute, buried the equalizer himself in the 83rd for his eighth goal of the tournament, and then came the finale that Egypt will never accept: in the buildup to the winner, Alexis Mac Allister appeared to tug back an Egyptian shirt in the box. The penalty appeals were waved away, VAR never checked the incident, and seconds later Julian Alvarez's counter ended with Enzo Fernandez heading home the 92nd-minute winner. From penalty shout to elimination in one sequence.

Egypt manager Hossam Hassan didn't hold back afterwards, calling the defeat "an injustice" and suggesting the tournament wanted its biggest star to stay in the running. His frustration had been building all day: Egypt had objected to the appointment of French referee Francois Letexier before kickoff, given Argentina's 2022 final win over France, and Hassan also blasted the noon kickoff in the Atlanta heat just four days after the previous round. His touchline protest was as pointed as his words, as he was booked for crossing his arms, FIFA's own designated signal for flagging an incident to the referee. The Egyptian FA followed up with an official statement the next day, citing serious concerns over the consistency of the decisions and the use of VAR.

Taking into account the performances of the refs so far during FIFA World Cup 2026, It's hard to argue the grievances are baseless. Argentina fired off 19 attempts to Egypt's 5, yet the calls that shaped the match, the wiped-out goal and the unchecked shirt pull, both broke the same way. Egypt's mostly domestic-league squad had the world champions dead and buried for 79 minutes, and a performance that deserved to be remembered for its bravery will instead be remembered for the whistle.

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Sleep-Inducing Draw Ends With Switzerland Victorious On Pens

Neither side could buy a goal, literally. The BC Place crowd, draped overwhelmingly in Colombian yellow, watched a cagey, chance-starved 0-0 that stretched through extra time, with Switzerland's organized block repeatedly blunting Colombia's more adventurous attack.

Colombia will replay the extra-time period in their nightmares. Jhon Lucumi rattled the crossbar with a close-range header, and after Granit Xhaka gifted the ball away, Jaminton Campaz skied a one-on-one with only Gregor Kobel to beat. Los Cafeteros finished with an xG of 1.03 to Switzerland's 0.35, and still walked away with nothing.

The shootout was pure agony for the South Americans. Davinson Sanchez smashed his effort against the bar, and after Manuel Akanji's miss briefly opened the door, Kobel denied Cucho Hernandez to swing it back. That left Ruben Vargas, who had only entered the match in stoppage time after an injury scare, to send Camilo Vargas the wrong way and win the shootout 4-3.

The history books took a beating on both sides. Switzerland reached their first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954, when they hosted the tournament, and won multiple knockout games at a single World Cup for the first time ever. They did it without breakout star Johan Manzambi, ruled out after an injury in training. For Colombia, it's a brutal case of deja vu: eliminated on penalties at back-to-back World Cup appearances after the 2018 loss to England, with the 2014 quarterfinal run still standing as their best-ever finish.