Zlatan Ibrahimovic waxed lyrical about Lionel Messi after his performance in Argentina’s FIFA World Cup round of 16 win over Egypt. Messi delivered an impressive display in the match, scoring a goal and providing an assist to send Argentina to the quarter-finals.
Speaking after the game, Ibrahimovic stated that Messi became unplayable and praised his mentality of still wanting more despite winning every available trophy.
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“He became an animal and nobody could catch him,” Ibrahimovic said on Fox Sports. “He just went on and on, and this is the one I saw, we are used to seeing, and we’re still seeing. You can also see emotionally how much it means to him. Remember, he already won this World Cup. Many trophies, Ballon d’Or, everything. You can see his CV and it’s perfect and he still wants it.”
Lionel Messi endured a difficult start to the match, missing a penalty in the first half. He shrugged off that display, turning on killer mode in the second half and lifting his side from the depths of despair.
He first assisted Cristian Romero in the 79th minute to halve the deficit before scoring the equaliser in the 83rd minute. Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback in stoppage time.
Messi appears to be breaking records in every match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He has now scored eight goals at his World Cup, leading Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, both of whom have scored seven goals.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also extended his lead at the top of the all-time goalscoring charts at the World Cup, with 21 goals to his name.
Lionel Messi’s goal against Egypt saw him become the first player in FIFA World Cup history to score in six consecutive knockout stage matches.
At 39 years and 13 days, Messi is the oldest player to record a goal and assist in a World Cup match, breaking the record of Messi, who was 35 years and 172 days against Croatia in 2022.
Lionel Messi’s game by numbers in FIFA World Cup clash vs Egypt
Lionel Messi delivered yet another incredible performance against Egypt in Atlanta and was moved to tears after the game.
The Inter Miami forward played the full 90 minutes and registered 91 touches, completed 42/51 successful passes, had 12 touches in the opposition box, won eight duels, created six chances, and received a match rating of 9.3, according to Sofascore.
His eight goals so far at the ongoing tournament are the most by a player through a team’s opening five games of a single edition since Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1970 (10). To crown it all, he is also the first player in football history to assist in six World Cup tournaments.
Edited by Ezekiel Olamide
