Lionel Messi and Argentina just pulled off the kind of comeback that makes neutrals believe in soccer again. Down 2-0 to Egypt with 11 minutes left in regulation at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the defending World Cup champions scored three unanswered goals to win 3-2 and book a quarterfinal date with Switzerland.
The crypto angle? The $ARG fan token, which tracks the Argentine Football Association on the Chiliz ecosystem, jumped roughly 6% on the day to hover around $0.23. Trading volume spiked alongside Messi’s equalizer like a heart rate monitor at a haunted house.
The match that moved markets
Egypt looked like the better side for most of the match. Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring in the 15th minute, and Mostafa Zico doubled the lead in the 67th. Then the 79th minute happened. Cristian Romero pulled one back, and suddenly the game’s entire texture changed. Four minutes later, Messi found the equalizer. Enzo Fernandez delivered the final blow in the 90+2nd minute with a header that sent Argentina through.
Argentina now advances to face Switzerland, which earlier defeated Colombia in a penalty shootout. The defending champions remain alive in their bid to become the first team since Brazil’s back-to-back titles in 1958 and 1962 to win consecutive World Cups.
