By the end, it felt inevitable — but Lionel Messi and Argentina’s World Cup comeback to beat Egypt was statistically improbable.The champions were two goals down in the 78th minute before scoring three goals in quick succession, the latest any side has mounted a fightback from that scoreline in the tournament’s history. When Cristian Romero’s header made it 2-1 in the 79th minute, statistics provider Opta gave them just a 0.6 per cent chance of winning.But that’s what they did, writing themselves into the history books with one of the great comebacks and booking their place in the quarter-finals, where they will face Switzerland.Can anything else top it? Here, our writers make the case for what is the greatest World Cup comeback… and pick out one which almost took that title.Argentina 3 Egypt 2, 2026 round of 16You are always on shaky ground when you put anything from modern World Cups up against past editions, because you are arguing with beloved history, and some of the best comebacks tie in with World Cup heritage.Eusebio scoring four goals against North Korea 5-3 in 1966. The 1982 semi-final where Harald Schumacher wiped out Patrick Battiston. But look, this one is history in the making.One day, we will be reminiscing about Messi’s tears at the final whistle, telling our children and grandchildren about the greatest player of all time. This game was not all about Messi, in fact it was not even all about Argentina. Egypt were brilliant and the way they recovered from the VAR drama to score a second played its part in this spectacle.For UK viewers:For U.S. viewers:Argentina’s resilience and fighting spirit, which they have in abundance, was always going to give them a chance when Romero pulled one back. Messi’s pristine half-volley extended his lead at the top of the all-time scoring charts and then Enzo Fernandez’s perfect header, another goal on the counter-attack, completed the drama. There was even a quite magnificent tackle towards the end.As much as Egypt will not like it, the controversy surrounding their disallowed goal, and Argentina’s non-disallowed goal, is part of the story, and will be remembered forever, too. This is what the World Cup is all about.Sam LeeBelgium 3 Japan 2, 2018 round of 16Poor Japan. That’s how I felt when I walked away from the Rostov Arena in Russia in the early hours of the morning.Japan played so well for so long against Belgium’s ‘golden generation’, who found themselves two goals down with 21 minutes remaining. Jan Vertonghen pulled one back — and that first goal always feels like the key — and then Marouane Fellaini got another. It had turned into a basketball game.