Argentina XI vs Egypt: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup and injury latest for World Cup 2026

Open menu

OneFootball's home page

Settings

Evening Standard

6 July 2026

Defending champions are looking to reach last eight

Lionel Messi

will be hoping that the head injury he sustained against Cape Verde will have subsided ahead

Argentina

’s last-16 encounter with

Egypt

at the

World Cup

The defending champions eked past the minnows 3-2 in a stunning extra-time affair, with captain Messi suffering a blow to the head following a collision during the game.

He remained on the pitch for the entire 120 minutes in Miami, Florida, where the 39-year-old plays his club football for Major League Soccer franchise

Inter Miami

The greatest of all time opened the scoring for the holders on 29 minutes at the Hard Rock Stadium, before Lautaro Martinez netted in the second minute of extra time after Deroy Duarte had forced an additional half an hour.

Sidny Lopes Cabral equalised once more for the Cape Verdeans, but it was an own goal from Diney in the 111th minute that saw Lionel Scaloni’s men progress into the last eight, where they take on

in Atlanta, Georgia.

There is another concern, with Facundo Medina, who was forced to leave the field with what turned out to be cramp, Scaloni confirmed.

“He finished very tired because we also used him quite a bit in attack,” Scaloni explained. “He ended up cramping, but he’s okay.”

The

boss has seemingly settled on his first-choice XI for this tournament, and it includes a hefty Premier League core.

Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez keeps goal, with Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez at the heart of the back four.

Nahuel Molina joins Medina at full-back, while Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister partner up in the engine room.

Natural central midfielers Rodrigo De Paul and Thiago Almada - the latter a more attacking No10 - are the wide midfielders in Scaloni’s 4-4-2, and

and Lautaro Martinez are his preferred strikeforce, with Atletico Madrid’s wantaway star Julian Alvarez on the bench.

Predicted

XI (4-4-2)

: Martinez; Molina, Romero, Martinez, Medina; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Almada; Messi, Martinez

Doubt

: Medina

Date and time

: 5pm BST on Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Messi hits 20th World Cup goal as Inter Miami contingent assessed

OffsAIde

Lionel Messi's historic World Cup continues against Cape Verde

Major League Soccer

Argentina keep faith with Inter captain Lautaro Martinez in World Cup

Football Italia

Kylian Mbappé hits 19th World Cup goal to close on Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi scores 20th World Cup goal to extend record ahead of Kylian Mbappé

Predicting which clubs the summer's biggest free agents will sign for

There are still some massive names who are set to become free agents in the summer, with some high-profile deals due to expire at the end of next month.As speculation...

Tottenham: Why James Maddison was not awarded a penalty against Leeds as Premier League issue statement

Spurs midfielder denied a big moment on his return from injuryThe Premier League has explained why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty in their draw against Leeds.As the clock ticked...

Bento's howler delays CR7's first title in Saudi Arabia 😱

An ugly mistake by Brazilian goalkeeper Bento prevented Al-Nassr from winning the Saudi League title this Tuesday.Cristiano Ronaldo’s team was leading 1-0 until the 53rd minute of the second half,...