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Centre-back Cristian Romero said his decisive goal against Egypt was a result of instinct and Argentina's determination to fight back.
With the team trailing by two goals, he pushed forward in search of a breakthrough, and his attacking gamble paid off when he rose to head the ball into the net. "The game leads to passages of play like that when you're two goals down. They're things that come from within us because we were losing, because it just wasn't happening for us. I went up, the ball came to me, and I headed it in," Cristian Romero said as per the FIFA website. Defending champions Argentina staged a remarkable comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in a thrilling FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash on July 7, with Cristian Romero sparking the fightback, Lionel Messi scoring the equaliser, and Enzo Fernandez netting a stoppage-time winner to seal La Albiceleste's place in the quarter-finals. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said he accepted Romero's attacking instinct against Egypt because Argentina were 2-0 down and needed to take risks. However, he admitted he does not encourage the defender to leave his position frequently, warning that such moves are risky when the game is closer. "We were losing 2-0, so I said nothing to him. I'll tell him that sometimes, because he tended to hold on to the ball, he was obsessed with that. [When] he was playing at Atalanta, he did that because he was playing in a different system [and] went up to play as a nine. Against Egypt, at 2-0 down, we can let that slide. But not at 2-1, and after that he went up again. And he knows just how much I hate it," Scaloni said. Egypt stunned Argentina in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim headed home from Marwan Attia's corner. Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage early in the second half through Mostafa Ziko, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review. The Pharaohs were not to be denied for long, however, as Ziko finished off a swift counterattack in the 67th minute after good work from Mohamed Salah and Haissem Hassan to make it 2-0. Argentina responded with renewed urgency after introducing attacking reinforcements. Cristian Romero reduced the deficit in the 79th minute, heading in Messi's inviting free-kick. Just four minutes later, Messi levelled the contest with a powerful strike from the edge of the box. With extra time looming, Argentina completed their remarkable turnaround in stoppage time. A loose ball fell kindly to Enzo Fernandez on the edge of the penalty area, and the midfielder calmly slotted a low finish into the bottom corner to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory. (ANI)
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