Fourteen minutes. That is all it took for Lionel Messi — 39 years old, grey-templed, often moving at little more than a walk — to drag Argentina from the edge of elimination and back into the heart of this World Cup. When Egypt's Mostafa Zico made it 2-0 at Atlanta Stadium, the giant screens caught Messi staring upward, hollow-eyed, and the image felt horribly final. It was not.

Egypt had been brilliant. Yasser Ibrahim scored in the first half, Zico added a second — though an earlier effort had been ruled out by VAR for a foul — and goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir was inspired, even saving a Messi penalty, the fourth missed spot-kick of the Argentine's World Cup career and his second in a single tournament, a record no other player holds. For long stretches, the holders looked old and lost. Then, with eleven minutes remaining, Messi did what only Messi does.

He did not sprint; he read. A precise cross found Cristiano Romero, whose header gave Argentina hope. Four minutes and eighteen seconds later, Messi's left foot sent a shot crashing in off the bar. Egypt, who had given everything, finally conceded a third to Enzo Fernández's stoppage-time header — and their exit was as heartbreaking as any in this tournament.

Cristiano Ronaldo had already gone, weeping after Portugal's injury-time defeat to Spain — a farewell that framed the stakes perfectly. Messi, his great contemporary, survived instead. As Argentina's fans refused to leave the stadium, their captain was thrown into the Atlanta air by his team-mates, still crying, but for entirely different reasons.