Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez have both hailed the character of their Argentina teammates after the side fought back from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta on 7 July and reach the World Cup quarter finals.
Speaking to Fox, with Natalie Gedra translating, Alvarez called it one of the finest performances in Argentina’s World Cup history. “One of the best Argentina matches in World Cups, definitely. We know we are a team who will give everything, and if we keep pushing, the goals are going to come. The last game against Cape Verde already showed how difficult it is for us, we played 120 minutes, we played extra time. But this one, we went behind but we kept fighting. We need to find solutions and adjust so we can keep going in this World Cup.”
Lautaro Martinez, who came off the bench to set up Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage time winner, echoed his teammate’s sentiment in the mixed zone. “Once again this team shows that despite the difficulty, the bad stretches of the match, we keep trying and keep looking for the opposition’s goal. This is what we play for, to try to take Argentina as high as possible. This is a group that doesn’t give up, that always wants more. Coming back from 2-0 down in a match like this is very difficult. The character, the desire to keep going, to keep looking for that goal, to keep trying and trying, that’s where we grow strong.”
Argentina had trailed after Yasser Ibrahim headed Egypt in front in the 15th minute, converting Marwan Attia’s cross to the back post. Lionel Messi then saw a first half penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir, his second missed spot kick of the tournament, before Mostafa Ziko doubled Egypt’s lead in the 67th minute, having earlier had a goal ruled out by VAR. Shobeir also denied Alexis Mac Allister and Alvarez himself in a string of fine saves, as Argentina went in behind at half time in a World Cup match for the first time since their 2010 quarter final defeat to Germany.
The comeback arrived in a span of 13 minutes. Cristian Romero headed in from a Messi cross before the captain thundered a half volley in off the crossbar, his eighth goal of the tournament and 21st of his World Cup career, extending his all time record. Fernandez then completed the turnaround with a header two minutes into stoppage time, the 3,000th goal in World Cup history and the latest winning goal ever scored by an Argentinian player in normal time. According to Opta’s win probability data, Argentina had just a 0.6 per cent chance of winning at the moment Romero’s goal made it 2-1, having trailed as late as the 78th minute, the latest any side has come back from two goals down to win a World Cup match without extra time.
Their comments echoed those of Messi, who said the squad’s refusal to give up had become the defining trait of the tournament. “This group never gives up, always fights to the end and we’re very lucky to see the goals and turn the game around,” he said. “It’s crazy what this group did in these knockout rounds.” Fernandez added that watching his captain had inspired the fightback. “He always shows, in adversity, that it can be done, and in the end today it’s a huge reward for everyone.”
Head coach Lionel Scaloni was left in tears afterwards, telling Telemundo: “What a group of players, brother,” while assistant Roberto Ayala said the squad “never tire, they always want more.” Argentina became the first side in World Cup history to overturn a two goal deficit in a knockout match, with only the Netherlands, who came back from one goal down in 2014, having managed a comparable feat. The defending champions will face either Colombia or Switzerland in the quarter finals.
