Salah vs Messi: Argentina, Egypt ready for blockbuster World Cup clash
Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah will go head-to-head on Tuesday when Argentina and Egypt meet in the Round of 16, and the World Cup has handed us exactly the kind of match it needed. A place in the quarter-finals is on the line. So is a piece of individual history.
Two of football's greatest modern icons will share the World Cup stage on Tuesday when Argentina meet Egypt in a blockbuster Round of 16 clash. Lionel Messi is chasing yet another piece of history. Mohamed Salah is trying to pull off what many believe is impossible.
The game in Atlanta puts two of the sport's biggest names on the same pitch. Argentina are trying to become back-to-back champions. Egypt are trying to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the country's history. And hovering over both storylines is the Golden Boot race, which Messi has a real chance to take control of on the right night.
Argentina didn't arrive in good shape, at least not on paper. They needed extra time to get past Cape Verde in the Round of 32, eventually going through on a Diney Borges own goal after 120 draining minutes. It was the kind of win that raises more questions than it answers, and Lionel Scaloni knows his team can't afford a repeat performance against an Egypt side that has quietly built momentum throughout the tournament.
"We are on an alert just like we were before the match against Cape Verde," Scaloni said this week. "Egypt is also a good rival. It's a very good team. They have important players and a coach that has been working with them for a while now. They play good football and always make it difficult for their rivals."
There was better news on the fitness front. Scaloni confirmed Messi is fit to start, despite playing every minute of the two-hour battle with Cape Verde. That's a relief for Argentina, because Messi is once again at the center of everything, and not just because of what's riding on the result. He, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland are tied at the top of the tournament's scoring charts with seven goals apiece.
Mbappe currently has the edge in the Golden Boot standings on assists, but another strong performance from Messi would be enough to send him back to the top. There's also the small matter of history: Messi's 20 career World Cup goals already put him one ahead of Mbapp on the all-time list, and every appearance now adds to that total.
Standing in his way is another player who needs no introduction. Salah has managed just one goal in four matches this tournament, a modest return by his standards, but he remains the engine of everything Egypt do going forward. Playing without a club at the moment hasn't slowed him down. He's the reason Egypt believes it can do something it's never done before.
Scaloni made clear he's not taking the challenge lightly. "Salah is a great player. It will be a pleasure to face him," he said. "Our team knows how to face these great players and we always work hard for them."
As much attention as the Messi-Salah matchup is getting, it would be a mistake to treat this as a one-on-one duel. Egypt have been one of the stories of the tournament in their own right. They arrived at the knockout stage unbeaten, then ground out a penalty shootout win over Australia in the Round of 32.
Their defense has held up under pressure match after match, and now they're one win away from a piece of history no Egyptian team has ever achieved.
Coach Hossam Hassan has made sure his players aren't intimidated by the occasion or the opponent. "We have prepared regardless of the colour of the opponent's shirt, or what name they have, and what ranking they have," he said. "This is a World Cup, a great opportunity to prove ourselves and that we belong here."
When the two teams walk out in Atlanta, the cameras will find Messi and Salah first. That's inevitable. But what's at stake goes well beyond two great players sharing a pitch. For Messi, another decisive performance keeps his Golden Boot hopes alive and adds yet another line to an already remarkable World Cup rsum. For Salah, this is a chance to lead Egypt somewhere it has never been and deliver one of the biggest results in the nation's football history.
Argentina are trying to keep their title defence alive. Egypt are trying to make a breakthrough decade in the making. Tuesday's Round of 16 match has all the makings of one of the defining games of this World Cup.
FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup Schedule | FIFA World Cup Points Table | Football News
Two of football's greatest modern icons will share the World Cup stage on Tuesday when Argentina meet Egypt in a blockbuster Round of 16 clash. Lionel Messi is chasing yet another piece of history. Mohamed Salah is trying to pull off what many believe is impossible.
The game in Atlanta puts two of the sport's biggest names on the same pitch. Argentina are trying to become back-to-back champions. Egypt are trying to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the country's history. And hovering over both storylines is the Golden Boot race, which Messi has a real chance to take control of on the right night.
Argentina didn't arrive in good shape, at least not on paper. They needed extra time to get past Cape Verde in the Round of 32, eventually going through on a Diney Borges own goal after 120 draining minutes. It was the kind of win that raises more questions than it answers, and Lionel Scaloni knows his team can't afford a repeat performance against an Egypt side that has quietly built momentum throughout the tournament.
"We are on an alert just like we were before the match against Cape Verde," Scaloni said this week. "Egypt is also a good rival. It's a very good team. They have important players and a coach that has been working with them for a while now. They play good football and always make it difficult for their rivals."
There was better news on the fitness front. Scaloni confirmed Messi is fit to start, despite playing every minute of the two-hour battle with Cape Verde. That's a relief for Argentina, because Messi is once again at the center of everything, and not just because of what's riding on the result. He, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland are tied at the top of the tournament's scoring charts with seven goals apiece.
Mbappe currently has the edge in the Golden Boot standings on assists, but another strong performance from Messi would be enough to send him back to the top. There's also the small matter of history: Messi's 20 career World Cup goals already put him one ahead of Mbapp on the all-time list, and every appearance now adds to that total.
Standing in his way is another player who needs no introduction. Salah has managed just one goal in four matches this tournament, a modest return by his standards, but he remains the engine of everything Egypt do going forward. Playing without a club at the moment hasn't slowed him down. He's the reason Egypt believes it can do something it's never done before.
Scaloni made clear he's not taking the challenge lightly. "Salah is a great player. It will be a pleasure to face him," he said. "Our team knows how to face these great players and we always work hard for them."
As much attention as the Messi-Salah matchup is getting, it would be a mistake to treat this as a one-on-one duel. Egypt have been one of the stories of the tournament in their own right. They arrived at the knockout stage unbeaten, then ground out a penalty shootout win over Australia in the Round of 32.
Their defense has held up under pressure match after match, and now they're one win away from a piece of history no Egyptian team has ever achieved.
Coach Hossam Hassan has made sure his players aren't intimidated by the occasion or the opponent. "We have prepared regardless of the colour of the opponent's shirt, or what name they have, and what ranking they have," he said. "This is a World Cup, a great opportunity to prove ourselves and that we belong here."
When the two teams walk out in Atlanta, the cameras will find Messi and Salah first. That's inevitable. But what's at stake goes well beyond two great players sharing a pitch. For Messi, another decisive performance keeps his Golden Boot hopes alive and adds yet another line to an already remarkable World Cup rsum. For Salah, this is a chance to lead Egypt somewhere it has never been and deliver one of the biggest results in the nation's football history.
Argentina are trying to keep their title defence alive. Egypt are trying to make a breakthrough decade in the making. Tuesday's Round of 16 match has all the makings of one of the defining games of this World Cup.
FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup Schedule | FIFA World Cup Points Table | Football News
