The Round of 16 delivered exactly the kind of drama a knockout stage should, with two matches on July 7 producing a last-gasp classic in Atlanta and a nerve-shredding shootout in Vancouver. By the time the dust settled, Argentina and Switzerland had booked their tickets to the quarterfinals — and set up a heavyweight meeting between the defending champions and a Swiss side finally exorcising decades of penalty demons.
Messi Turns Back the Clock in Atlanta
Egypt gave the world champions a real fright. Yasser Ibrahim rose highest from a corner to head the Pharaohs in front after just 15 minutes, and when Lionel Messi stepped up to level things from the penalty spot in the 21st, goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir guessed right and pushed the effort away — one of three big saves he made in the first half, also denying Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez to keep Argentina scoreless heading into the break. Mostafa Zico doubled Egypt's advantage in the 67th minute on a slick fast break, after VAR had already chalked off an earlier goal for a foul on Lisandro Martínez, and for a long stretch Atlanta looked set to host one of the tournament's great shocks.
Then Argentina remembered who they were. Cristian Romero headed home in the 79th minute to make it 2-1, and four minutes later Messi atoned for his earlier miss in style, meeting the ball first-time to level the score at 2-2 and notch his eighth goal of the tournament — still the competition's top mark. Egypt, rattled, couldn't hold on: deep into stoppage time, Enzo Fernández rose to head in the winner in the 92nd minute and send the holders through 3-2. Egypt finished the match down to ten men in spirit if not in numbers, picking up late yellow cards for Marawan Attia and Haissem Hassan as frustration boiled over, but nothing could take the shine off a Round of 16 tie that had everything — an early shock, a missed penalty, a disallowed goal, and a Messi-inspired grandstand finish under the Atlanta lights.
Switzerland Break the Curse
Across the continent in Vancouver, Switzerland and Colombia served up 120 minutes of high-quality, goalless stalemate before the match went the only way these things can — to penalties. It was uncomfortable territory for the Swiss, who had never before won a World Cup shootout, having lost their only previous attempt to Ukraine back in 2006. History looked ready to repeat itself when Manuel Akanji, so composed all tournament, blazed his effort over the crossbar to hand Colombia the initiative. But Gregor Kobel had other ideas in goal, guessing correctly to save Davinson Sánchez's attempt moments later, and when Cucho Hernández also saw his effort kept out by Kobel, it was left to Rubén Vargas to send Switzerland through with the winning kick, sealing a 4-3 shootout success after Juan Quintero, Granit Xhaka, Zeki Amdouni, Daniel Muñoz-marked Jaminton Campaz, Cédric Itten and Luis Díaz had all found the net along the way.
The release of emotion afterward said it all. "We finally broke the curse. I'm incredibly happy for everyone," said head coach Murat Yakin, who has now guided this Swiss generation further than almost any before it. There was room for a laugh, too — Akanji, self-deprecating about his skied penalty, admitted: "I told Muri that was the last penalty I'd ever take. It was disastrous." Captain Granit Xhaka, meanwhile, was already looking ahead with relish to the quarterfinal date with Argentina and, as he put it, "one of the greatest players" the game has seen.
Setting Up a Blockbuster
Whatever happens next, July 7 will be remembered as the day Messi produced one more piece of vintage magic and the day Switzerland finally shed a penalty hoodoo that had followed them for two decades. Neither side made it look easy — Egypt pushed the world champions to the brink, and Colombia matched Switzerland blow for blow through two hours of football and eight nervy spot kicks — but both underdogs will fly home with heads held high after performances that thrilled neutral fans everywhere. Now the reward, and the challenge, is a quarterfinal collision in Kansas City on Saturday between Messi's Argentina and a rejuvenated Swiss side with nothing left to fear.