With 11 minutes remaining and Argentina trailing 2-0 to Egypt, Lionel Messi, 39, once again altered the narrative of a World Cup match with decisive influence. The Argentina captain provided the assist for Cristian Romero’s 79th-minute header, a moment that underlined how his role has shifted toward complete control of games through passing, rhythm and vision.
For Mohamed Salah, Tuesday’s Round of 16 appearance added another difficult chapter to an international career marked by strong performances and heavy expectation, but without the single defining World Cup triumph. The match carried added poignancy because the opponent who arguably provided Salah’s last realistic path to that landmark was the player whose name he was once likened to.
As a teenager emerging from El Mokawloon, Salah was frequently dubbed the “Egyptian Messi”: a slight, nimble, left-footed attacker noted for balance, acceleration and a keen eye for goal. Two decades later, the prevailing story has been how Salah escaped those comparisons and forged his own identity on the world stage.
The contrasting trajectories of their international careers were evident in Atlanta. Messi, who spent nearly two decades at Barcelona alongside Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets and had already accumulated five Ballons d’Or, eight league titles and four Champions League trophies by the time Salah broke through, has evolved into a supreme orchestrator. Salah’s route to superstardom was different: a move from Egypt to Basel, a stalled spell at Chelsea, a rebuild at Fiorentina and Roma, and an explosion at Liverpool culminating in his breakthrough season in 2017-18.
Though both players once shared similar attacking profiles—left-footed wingers cutting inside from the right—their games have diverged with age. Salah has been portrayed more as an obsessive professional, likened on the spectrum of influence to Cristiano Ronaldo for his physical preparation and relentless extraction of talent, while Messi’s influence in recent matches has come through creative control and match management.
