Argentina found themselves behind at half-time against Egypt in the round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after captain Lionel Messi had a penalty kick saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

According to GoogleNewsEN, Shobeir denied Messi from the spot during the first half of the match, leaving Argentina in a deficit position as the two sides headed into the interval.

The source further notes that this is not the first occasion on which Messi has seen a penalty stopped during a major international tournament, lending additional significance to Shobeir’s intervention in the context of the fixture.

The match is being contested as part of the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Full details regarding the precise venue and kick-off time were not comprehensively verified from the available source material at the time of publication.

The parties involved could not be reached for comment.

Argentina enter the tournament as reigning world champions, having claimed the title at the 2022 edition held in Qatar. An elimination at the round-of-16 stage would represent an early conclusion to the nation’s title defence under head coach Lionel Scaloni.