LIONEL MESSI was left in tears after a dramatic comeback kept his World Cup alive.

The 39-year-old maestro looked like he was about to play possibly his last World Cup game when Egypt led 2-0 in the 76th minute.

But a remarkable fightback from the reigning world champions kept their dream of back-to-back titles alive.

Messi scored Argentina’s equaliser as he continued to roll back the years.

It was the 39-year-old’s eighth goal during this World Cup, which took him one clear of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race.

And after the 3-2 win, Messi was in floods of tears as the emotion poured out of him.

He racked up an unwanted record in the first half in Atlanta.

Messi became the first player EVER to miss two penalties at a World Cup outside of a shootout, making it his fourth miss out of eight attempts (excluding shoot-outs) in World Cups.

Egypt looked set to cause a shock when Mostafa Zico put them 2-0 up in the 67th minute.

But Cristian Romero sparked a stunning Argentina fightback in the 79th, before Messi scored the equaliser four minutes later.

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez then sealed a dramatic comeback win with his injury-time header to break Egypt hearts.

Argentina’s dream of winning back-to-back World Cups remained alive thanks to the epic finish in Atlanta.

Messi has also led Argentina to Copa America victories in 2021 and 2024.

And his World Cup career has at least one more chapter – in a quarter-final against either Switzerland or Colombia.