One of a kind - Thierry Henry praises Lionel Messi after Argentina beat Egypt in FIFA World Cup 2026

Messi always had something to prove during training.

Perhaps it isn’t a miracle because Argentina are the reigning World Cup and Copa America champions. Still, they absolutely pulled out all the stops to defeat Egypt 3-2 after trailing by two goals late in the game. Of course, having Lionel Messi at your side makes everything simpler.

Lionel Messi once again proved to be the primary difference maker. His early penalty kick was saved, and he wasn’t playing very well. But when he turned it on with around 15 minutes remaining, it was the beginning of something extraordinary.

After assisting on Cristian Romero’s goal, the captain scored to tie the game. Then, Enzo Fernandez sent Argentina into joy, as the quarterfinals now await.

Somehow, this Argentina squad continues to surprise everyone. Even at 39, Lionel Messi is what keeps them going. Despite visibly feeling the effects of his missed penalty attempt, Messi maintained his composure until the referee blew the final whistle.

Lionel Messi lost control of his emotions after the final whistle.

Henry reveals how playing alongside Lionel Messi felt

Watching Lionel Messi cry after the Egypt game reminded his former colleague, Fox Soccer commentator and France legend Thierry Henry, of the old Messi. Henry talked about why Messi lives and uniquely breathes football by sharing a tale from their time together at FC Barcelona.

“First of all, look at him… look at him cry, and what that means, how much it means to him and his team. But above all, it reminds us that he is human, that he is human. Because he missed some penalties, four out of eight.”

“And then he reminds us once again that he is not human. I played with him, and what happens with Leo is that sometimes… you don’t have to wake the beast. That’s what happens. And I’ve seen it up close in training.

“Once we were training and he was fouled, the referee didn’t call it and Leo complained. The referee said ‘STOP COMPLAINING, that can happen in a match.”

“I looked at him right then and he flipped the switch. He goes and gets that ball—I was there, I witnessed it—and he scores THREE GOALS IN A ROW right away: he steals the ball from you and scores a goal, he steals the ball from you again and scores another goal, he steals the ball from you once more and scores another goal… he turns around and says: ‘NEXT TIME, CALL THE FOUL’.”

“And we all said: ‘Yes, yes, next time call the foul.’ Because he is simply unstoppable. When he gets in that mood, it’s very hard to stop him. When his team needs him, he raises his level of play. This is a guy who played 120 minutes the other day. He raises his level, starts taking the ball and dribbling past almost everyone to try to change the game.

“Wow. Watching him, I remembered when I played with him. Sometimes—and it’s not embarrassing to say it—he would score some goals and I, being on the field, would take a moment, one or two seconds, and just stand there: WOW.”

“And I’d realize I was in the game and had to get back to it. It doesn’t happen to me often, but he is one of a kind. I had the chance to play with him for three years. WOW. This is Hollywood stuff. It’s almost like if you wrote a script about that, you’d think… it’s a movie that would never happen in real life. Like, come on, the director went overboard with that one, you know?

“But Messi writes…”

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