The golden rule of football? Never write off Lionel Messi. Just when it looked like his dream of leading Argentina to the bicampeonato was in tatters, the 39-year-old came to his country’s rescue for the umpteenth time in spectacular fashion.
With 11 minutes to play and still reeling from Yasser Ibrahim’s early header and a second from Mostafa Ziko – named after the Brazil legend – Lionel Scaloni’s side were heading for the mother of all upsets against Egypt. Mostafa Shobair, whose father,Ahmed was the Pharaohs’ goalkeeper at the 1990 World Cup and whose time-wasting tactics against the Republic of Ireland resulted in the introduction of the back-pass rule two years later, seemed set to write a more positive chapter in his family’s history after a brilliant performance that saw him repel everything that the world champions could throw at them.
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