Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah collide at World Cup 2026 today as Argentina and Egypt meet for a place in the quarter-finals. All eyes will be on two of football's biggest stars at Atlanta Stadium as a thrilling round of 16 edges towards its conclusion, with either Switzerland or Colombia awaiting the winners in Kansas City this weekend.
Argentina's Path to the Round of 16
Argentina begin as clear favourites, though the holders may be a little worse for wear after being surprisingly pushed all the way by debutants Cape Verde in an extra-time thriller in Miami on Friday. Lionel Scaloni's side needed an 111th-minute own goal to prevent being taken to a penalty shootout by the tournament's surprise package amid a slew of injury issues, having twice been pegged back following goals by Messi and Lisandro Martinez.
Argentina will be desperate to bounce back and reassert some authority here after previously cruising to the top of Group J with Messi in imperious scoring form to lead the Golden Boot race, with the talismanic captain having shaken off a head knock.
Egypt's Historic Knockout Win
Egypt will also have to quickly recover after going all the way to spot-kicks against Australia as they won a World Cup knockout game for the first time ever. Mohamed Salah will be key to Egypt's hopes as they aim to continue their historic run.
Match Details and Build-Up
Kick-off is at 5pm BST at Atlanta Stadium. Stay tuned for match build-up, team news, and live game updates as two of football's modern greats go head to head for the penultimate spot in the quarter-finals.
