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Lionel Messi scored and assisted as defending champions Argentina came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the World Cup quarter-final against Switzerland, a night on which the 39-year-old set fresh all-time marks in what is widely reported to be his final tournament.
France remain the team to beat at the 2026 World Cup according to ESPN's post-Round-of-32 panel, with Argentina, Spain and Brazil close behind as the bracket narrows.
Lionel Messi scored six times in Group J, including a hat-trick against Algeria, to reach 19 career World Cup goals and lift defending champions Argentina to second in the post-group-stage power rankings.
ESPN's post-group-stage panel rank France No. 1 with 16 of 20 first-place votes after a perfect group and a 3-0 win over Sweden, with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise driving the favourites.
