Argentina was two goals down to Egypt with about 10 minutes left in regulation. The defending World Cup champs looked cooked. Then Cristian Romero scored in the 79th minute. Lautaro Martinez equalized in stoppage time. And just like that, Messi and company escaped Atlanta with a 3-2 win and a spot in the quarterfinals.
Tom Brady watched it happen. And the guy who built a career on impossible comebacks had to acknowledge what he saw.
“Yeah so that might top 28-3,” Brady posted on X with the mind-blown emoji.
That’s not nothing. Brady’s 28-3 comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI is the gold standard for postseason rallies in American sports. His Patriots were dead in the water in the third quarter, down 25 points in Houston. Then they scored 31 unanswered, forced overtime and won the whole thing. It’s the kind of game people still bring up at bars and family dinners.
What happened Tuesday night in Atlanta had a similar feel. Egypt went up 2-0 in the 67th minute on a goal that looked like it might send the defending champs home early. Argentina had the weight of a nation and the expectations of a back-to-back title run pressing on them. For a team that entered this tournament as favorites, a Round of 16 exit would have been a disaster. Messi’s legacy was already secure, but another early exit would have been a weird footnote.
Instead, Romero banged one in off a set piece with 11 minutes left. Then Martinez cleaned up a scramble in the box during stoppage time. Argentina stole it. The stadium went nuts. And on social media, the 28-3 comparisons started flying before Brady even hit send.
There’s something fitting about the connection. Both Brady and Messi are the kind of competitors who seem to treat deficits as personal insults. The Falcons had that game won. Egypt had that game won. Both times, the GOAT on the other side refused to accept it.
Argentina still has three more wins to go if they want to repeat as World Cup champions. That would put Messi in rare territory — back-to-back titles, something only a handful of players have ever done. Brady won back-to-back Super Bowls early in his career (2003 and 2004). The parallels between these two careers keep stacking up.
For now, Argentina lives to fight another day. And Tom Brady, retired and watching from home, saw something that reminded him of his own best trick. That’s about the highest compliment one legend can pay another.
Leave a Comment