For nearly 80 minutes, it looked like the defending world champions were heading home.
Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 entering the 78th minute of its Round of 16 match, with Lionel Messi having already missed a first-half penalty and live betting markets pricing La Albiceleste as massive underdogs.
But in a stunning finish, Argentina scored three unanswered goals in a 13-minute span to complete one of the greatest comebacks in FIFA World Cup history, and one of the biggest live betting turnarounds ever seen in sports.
Egypt stunned Argentina early when Yasser Ibrahim scored a header in the 15th minute, marking the first time Argentina had trailed in a World Cup match since its opening game of the 2022 tournament against Saudi Arabia.
Argentina had a chance to respond before halftime, but Messi’s penalty was saved, allowing Egypt to take a lead into the half. The Pharaohs then doubled their lead in the 67th minute via a Mostafa Ziko counterattack goal. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the defending champions looked like they were heading for an early exit.
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Until everything changed.
Cristian Romero scored in the 79th minute, finishing a Messi assist to cut the deficit to one. Four minutes later, Messi delivered the equalizer himself, sending the match into chaos. Then, in stoppage time, Enzo Fernández completed the miracle, scoring in the 92nd minute to give Argentina an improbable 3-2 victory and send the defending champions into its second straight quarterfinals.
The win was historic in several ways:
- According to Opta, Argentina had just a 0.6% chance of winning in 90 minutes just before Cristian Romero made it 2-1.
- It was the first time Argentina had ever come back from a two-goal deficit to win a World Cup match.
- Argentina became the first team since Belgium’s 3-2 comeback over Japan in the 2018 Round of 16 to erase a two-goal deficit and win a World Cup match in regulation.
- Argentina became the first team ever to win a World Cup match in 90 minutes after still trailing by two goals in the 78th minute.
- It was also just the fourth time in World Cup knockout-stage history that a team rallied from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
The comeback was simply as unbelievable from a betting perspective.
Earlier than kickoff, Argentina was a heavy favourite at -290 on the moneyline and -750 to advance, whereas Egypt was +900 to win and +510 to achieve the quarters.
By the 78th minute, these odds had utterly flipped.
Argentina’s reside moneyline climbed as excessive as +2500 at Caesars Sportsbook, whereas its odds to advance reached +575. In keeping with Caesars, one bettor positioned $200 on Argentina at +2500, cashing a $5,000 win after the historic comeback.
So the place does that examine to among the different biggest comebacks in sports activities historical past? Whereas these odds have been extraordinary, they nonetheless fall simply wanting the largest reside betting comebacks on report.
One of many largest nonetheless stays the 2022 Minnesota Vikings, who trailed the Indianapolis Colts 33-0 at halftime earlier than rallying to win 39-36 in extra time after reside odds reached +4000 on DraftKings.
Different legendary betting comebacks embody the 2017 New England Patriots overcoming the notorious 28-3 deficit in opposition to the Atlanta Falcons in Tremendous Bowl LI after reaching roughly +1600-2000 reside, and the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars, who got here again from 27-0 in opposition to the Los Angeles Chargers within the Wild Card spherical, after being listed round +2500 in-game.
In the meantime, soccer has produced its share of unforgettable comebacks as nicely.
Barcelona’s well-known “Remontada” in opposition to Paris Saint-Germain within the 2017 Champions League reportedly noticed reside odds to advance climb to round +5000 earlier than three late objectives accomplished the unimaginable, whereas Liverpool’s miraculous 2005 Champions League closing comeback from 3-0 down in opposition to AC Milan carried reside odds close to +2500 earlier than it will definitely lifted the trophy on penalties.
Argentina’s comeback could not high that checklist numerically, however contemplating the stage, the defending champions’ elimination hanging within the steadiness, and the actual fact all three objectives got here in a 13-minute interval, it would undoubtedly be remembered as one of many biggest betting comebacks in World Cup historical past.
