EgyptvsArgentina
EGY 2/ARG 3
Things to say
Argentina beat Egypt 3-2 at full time at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
01
opener
Argentina got the job done, 3-2, but it was way closer than it should've been. Egypt kept coming and made them sweat right to the end. Entertaining as anything.
02
key player
Messi was pulling the strings again, five shots and just running the whole thing. Even at his age he's still the best guy on the pitch by a mile.
03
hot take
Argentina's defending was shambolic, honestly. You concede two to Egypt, you don't get to feel great about a World Cup win.
04
deep cut
Paredes put up 115 accurate passes in midfield, that's absurd. And their keeper barely got tested while Egypt's Shoubir made four saves keeping it respectable.
05
exit
Anyway, they'll need to tighten up at the back before the next round or someone punishes them.
The recap
Argentina edged Egypt 3-2 in a proper end-to-end scrap that was never as comfortable as the seeding suggested. Messi ran the show with five shots and pulled the strings all afternoon, while Paredes was everywhere, knocking about 115 accurate passes to keep Argentina ticking.
Egypt refused to roll over and twice clawed their way back into it, with Shoubir making four saves to keep them breathing.
In the end Argentina's extra quality found the net one more time than Egypt could answer, and they nicked it by the odd goal in five.