Seeing Cape Verde score twice against the defending champions will give Egypt hope that they can find success in the final third here.

The African side have found the back of the net in all four of their World Cup matches so far, including against Belgium in round one of the group stages.

However, their main challenge will be keeping Argentina at bay. Cape Verde had an impressive defensive record, having kept clean sheets against Spain and Saudi Arabia in the group stages, but Egypt haven’t been as resolute, having conceded in all four matches.

Argentina have bagged 11 goals in their three World Cup matches so far alone, and goals are a target whenever Lionel Messi is involved.

Egypt are much stronger than Cape Verde on paper, and they will hope to replicate that blueprint which caused Argentina problems in the previous round.

With that being said, Lionel Scaloni’s side were still dominant, and they had 22 shots across the 120 minute match, with ten of those hitting the target. In the end, a heroic display from Vozinha kept Cape Verde in the game, and he finished with eight saves.

If Argentina are even slightly more clinical in the final third, they should have no issues in making it to the quarter-finals. There is a significant gulf in quality between these two sides, and Egypt lack experience at this stage of the tournament.

The 39-year-old wasn’t quite at his clinical best against Cape Verde, as he accounted for nine of Argentina’s 22 shots, but he was unfortunate in the sense that Vozinha saved five of his efforts.

Still, Messi did find the back of the net, meaning he has landed this selection in all four World Cup appearances in 2026.

The Inter Miami man scored a hat-trick against Algeria in round one, before following that up with a brace against Austria.

His tally of seven goals is the joint-most in the competition, but Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have both played an extra game. That should be more than enough motivation for Messi heaving into this clash.

Martinez should find duels against Yasser Ibrahim here, who is the centre back for Egypt. The 33-year-old was fouled once against Australia last time out, meaning this selection has landed in three out of four World Cup appearances for him so far.

In fact, he has been adept at drawing contact for Egypt in recent starts, landing this selection in ten of his last 14 appearances for his national team.

There should be plenty of pressure for Ibrahim to absorb here against Argentina, especially considering he will come up against a player like Lautaro Martinez. Ibrahim can often go down easily to buy soft free-kicks, which bodes well for his selection.

Lautaro Martinez has started all four World Cup matches for Argentina so far, and he has landed this selection in three of those. In fact, his tally of seven fouls is more than any other Argentina player in the competition.

The Inter Milan striker presses intensely from the front, and is always looking to put his opponents under pressure. He also had an average of 1.87 fouls per 90 for Inter Milan during the 25/26 campaign, which highlights his impressive work rate.

Egypt have drawn at least 12 infringements in all four matches so far, which makes this look like a decent matchup to target Lautaro Martinez.

Mostafa Ziko has been one of Egypt's most consistent performers at this World Cup, operating in the forward line. Like Lautaro Martinez, Ziko doesn’t give his opponents even a yard of space, constantly looking to put pressure on them to force an error.

Because of that, he has landed this selection in each of his last three starts for Egypt, with exactly two fouls against Australia, Iran and New Zealand. Ziko has also recorded four tackles in that period, which highlights that commendable work-rate. He should have more defensive work to do than ever against Argentina here, who are likely to control proceedings and dominate possession.

After picking up two yellow cards in the group stages, Mohanad Lasheen was forced to sit out against Australia due to suspension, but he should return to midfield here against Argentina. Lasheen committed exactly one foul against both Iran and New Zealand, but that was enough to earn him a yellow.

A majority of his infringements tend to be quite cynical, meaning he is no stranger to the referee’s notebook.

In addition to his four fouls in the tournament so far, Lasheen has also racked up 13 tackles, averaging 4.33 per 90. He is incredibly combative in the heart of midfield, and this matchup against Argentina promises to be one of the toughest of his career - he will find duels against Messi.

In addition to his strong challenges, Lasheen has also been adept at drawing contact, and he was fouled twice against Iran in his last start.

The 30-year-old currently plays for Pyramids FC in the Egyptian top flight, where he had an average of 1.62 fouls drawn per 90 in the 25/26 campaign.

Lasheen does tend to buy soft free-kicks, and he will operate in the same zone of the field as Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez.

Those two have combined for nine fouls in their three starts together for Argentina so far. The South American side tend to be quite aggressive in their press as a unit, which means Lasheen could have plenty of pressure to absorb.

Egypt are not short of star names in their attacking lineup, but it was Emam Ashour who stole the show against Australia last time out.

He scored the only goal for Egypt in open play, accounting for five of their 14 shots in the 120 minutes. He looked eager to get on the ball at every available opportunity, and was always looking to find the back of the net. Ashour also scored against Belgium in round one, making him currently the top scorer for Egypt in the competition.

Argentina will be a tough matchup for Egypt here, but they weren’t convincing against Cape Verde last time out, and the Pharaohs will hope that they can cause problems on the counter.