Manu Ginobili has had a rough few months as a sports fan. He watched his San Antonio Spurs grind through the NBA playoffs only to fall short in the Finals. Then he strapped right back in for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Argentina gave him more heartburn than a bad empanada.
On Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta, the defending champions were down 2-0 to Egypt with less than 15 minutes left. Egypt had already survived a penalty kick from Lionel Messi just before halftime. VAR wiped out one of their goals in the 58th minute, but that didn’t change the scoreboard. Things looked bleak.
Then Argentina remembered they’re Argentina.
Cristian Romero got one back in the 79th minute. Messi finally connected on the equalizer about four minutes later. And in stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez nodded home the winner. The comeback was complete. Messi was crying again — for good reasons this time.
Ginobili, who got inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, let out a breath and posted on X (translated from Spanish): “And I thought I’d suffered against Cape Verde!! Incredible match!! To the quarterfinals!!”
That Cape Verde game was its own nightmare. Argentina needed extra time to dispatch a West African team that refused to quit. Then came Egypt, and a similar script with a happier ending.
Argentina has this habit of flirting with disaster. They’ve done it in back-to-back matches now. But they keep winning, which is all that really matters. They’ll face Switzerland in the semifinals on Saturday night. Ginobili will be watching, probably with a bottle of antacids nearby.
There was some grumbling about the VAR call that wiped out Egypt’s goal, but nobody in Argentina is complaining too loudly. They’re still alive. They can still win a second straight World Cup. And after the way the Spurs season ended, Ginobili could use another trophy celebration.
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