Only one man has scored 20 times in the history of the World Cup: Lionel Messi.
Only one man has ever scored in eight straight World Cup matches, and of course, it’s none other than Messi.
The Argentina captain has the opportunity to extend both records (and put some daylight between himself and Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race) when he leads the Albiceleste in a 12 p.m. ET matchup against Egypt. The winner of that matchup will go on to face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals.
2026 World Cup Odds for Argentina vs. Egypt
Argentina is a -270 favorite to win in regular time on DraftKings Sportsbook (-700 to advance), while the Pharaohs are +800 (+450 to advance). There are +380 odds that the tie will require extra time.
How many goals has Lionel Messi scored in the 2026 World Cup?
From the start of the tournament, Messi has answered any questions about his age, and then some. He netted his first career World Cup hat trick in the Albiceleste’s opener against Algeria, scored two more and missed a penalty against Austria, and came on as a substitute to curl in an 80th-minute free kick against Jordan, extending his streak. Messi then scored the opener in Argentina’s Round of 32 thriller against Cape Verde, managing six shots on target in total. He leads all players in goals, expected goals, shots, and shots on target per 90 minutes.
Messi has a chance to make even more history against Egypt, as he’s currently tied with compatriot Diego Maradona on eight World Cup assists. He thought he’d registered his ninth assist late in extra time when Cristian Romero headed in his corner kick, but it was eventually ruled an own goal by the Blue Sharks’ Diney, leaving Messi on eight.
Will Lionel Messi Score Against Egypt?
Messi has -140 odds of scoring during regular time and -170 odds of netting when any possible extra time is considered, the shortest odds of any player on either team.
Given his hot form and his team’s strong link-up play, it makes sense; Messi has scored in each of his last five starts for his country and nine of his last 10 matches overall for club and country. He’s been stellar at creating plays for himself and his teammates, ranking 35th among all players in the competition in progressive carries per 90 minutes, and he’s produced the third-most shots, second-most goals, and 14th-most chances from such situations. Two of his teammates, Romero and Lisandro Martínez, have registered even more progressive carries.
Egypt has a decent, compact defense, but it isn’t well-suited to stop Messi. Among teams to advance to the Round of 16, only Norway, Paraguay, and Belgium have allowed more expected goals per match than the Pharaohs, and of the final 16, only Switzerland and Norway have allowed opponents to attempt a higher proportion of their shots inside the box. Egypt has also been quite poor at defending set pieces, and one of Messi’s goals came from a free kick. I also don’t necessarily trust Mostafa Shobeir; though the Al Ahly goalkeeper ranks seventh in goals prevented so far this tournament, he’s faced some mediocre attackers so far this tournament and sat behind Mohamed El-Shenawy last summer when Al Ahly faced high-level competition (including Messi) in the Club World Cup.
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