Argentina vs Egypt | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Round of 16 | Preview and Prediction

This is the last Round of 16 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and will be played between defending champions Argentina and African giants Egypt on July 8 at Atlanta Stadium in the US. 

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Round of 16: ARG vs EGY | 21:30 IST, July 8, 2026

Argentina came through a difficult Round of 32 fixture, which was initially dubbed a cakewalk for them. Cabo Verde really took the game to them and came back twice to draw 2–2, pushing the game into extra time, where they lost in a heart-breaking manner through an own-goal, but not before winning everyone’s hearts.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Argentina, but Cape Verde equalised through Deroy Duarte. Defender Lisandro Martínez then gave Argentina the lead in second-half stoppage time, but Sidny Lopes Cabral restored parity with a goal-of-the-tournament contender — a sublime strike into the top-right corner. Argentina were ultimately saved by Diney Borges’ unfortunate own goal in extra time.

La Albiceleste would be a bit concerned with that performance, as they looked vulnerable in defence against a relatively inexperienced team.

In contrast, the Egypt–Australia game was a tight, scrappy affair with not a lot of action. Emam Ashour opened the scoring for Egypt early in the first half, then Australia equalised early in the second half courtesy of a Mohamed Hany own-goal. The two sides kept trying to find a winner, and Egypt almost found one in stoppage time, with Patrick Beach making a superb save to keep out a header from Ramy Rabia. The game headed into extra time and then the penalty shoot-out, where Egypt edged Australia 4–2, with Hossam Abdelmaguid converting the decisive penalty to win it for the Pharaohs.

This was the Egyptians’ first-ever knockout win at the World Cup, and they became only the second African nation after Morocco to win a penalty shoot-out. However, Argentina are going to be their most challenging opponents yet. Given the form Messi is in, the Egyptians’ best hope will be to defend deep, try to hit them on the counter, and hope their own messiah comes through on the day.

Nico González and Facundo Medina will be unavailable for Argentina due to injury issues, while Egypt will miss Mohamed Abdelmonem and Ahmed Fetouh for this fixture.

Both teams have been unbeaten in the tournament so far, but if we look at the two squads on paper, Argentina are the overwhelming favourites for the win in this game. That said, Egypt do have a good attacking line that can’t be underestimated. If Mohamed Salah recovers from his hamstring issue, he can definitely make an impact for Egypt against a vulnerable Argentine defence.

That said, Argentina have too much firepower with an in-form Messi in their ranks, and that will help them book a place in the quarter-finals yet again.

Score Prediction: Argentina 3–1 Egypt
Venue: Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA