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Rabat – Egypt faces its biggest test of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday when the Pharaohs take on defending champions Argentina at Atalanta Stadium to secure a place in the quarterfinals. The game will kick off at 5:00 pm Moroccan time.
Though it came as a surprise, the Pharaohs have proved themselves as one of the tournament’s surprises thus far. They made it past Australia via a thrilling shootout to reach the knockout stages for the very first time, and are only one win away from a historic quarterfinal appearance.
The team standing against them is a strong Argentinian outfit eager to defend its title. The team led by Lionel Scaloni was in serious trouble when facing Cape Verde in the previous round, having secured a victory only thanks to a 3-2 extra-time win.
Lionel Messi, who leads by example through his creative genius, will again be at the center of action, along with Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández, and Alexis Mac Allister as the South Americans bid to win the World Cup twice in a row.
On the other hand, Egypt will rely again on its talisman, Mohamed Salah. The skipper has guided a hardworking team based on strong defense and fast transitions, which has helped them qualify for the last 16 stage of the World Cup.
Today’s match will be the first meeting ever in the history of the World Cup between Argentina and Egypt in what will be another intriguing match of the round of 16. Although the two nations have met just once in modern history, a friendly match on March 26, 2008, in which Egypt hosted Argentina and lost 2–0.
The Egyptians might be underdogs, but knockout football almost never follows form. The Egyptians have already established themselves as a team capable of defying all odds by reaching this stage, and they definitely have what it takes to go head-to-head with the biggest teams in the world. Still, Argentina are the clear favorites in today’s clash.
At this point, it would appear that it is simply a matter of 90 minutes for the Pharaohs to pull off one of the most glorious feats in the history of Egyptian football. Not only will victory give them a ticket to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history, but it will also establish them as the greatest team of all time for Egypt.
The Argentines also have some objectives of their own, and avoiding a loss in this match is one of the most important things for them.
