The players enter a packed-out Atlanta Stadium. Lionel Messi leads Argentina out onto the field, Mohamed Salah leads the Egypt group. Time for the national anthems. Live action shortly, stay tuned!

The winner of the Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarter-finals of FIFA World Cup 2026. Switzerland and Colombia face off in their Round of 16 clash after the end of the Argentina-Egypt match.

After that, Norway or England will the opponent in the potential semi-final. One of France, Morocco, Spain or Belgium could be the potential final opponent.

We are just about 20 minutes away from kickoff at the Atlanta Stadium, in the match between Argentina and Egypt. With Brazil out, Argentina will become the first South American nation to qualify for the quarter-finals if they win today. On the other hand, Egypt are hoping to join Morocco as African sides to make it to the last eight.

The decision by Lionel Scaloni to bring in defensive midfielder Leandro Paredes instead of winger Thiago Almada means that Argentina are looking for more solidity in midfield. Argentina are going with four central midfielders, with Rodrigo de Paul and Alexis Mac Allister likely to be the slightly wider CMs.

The Lionel Messi-Julian Alvarez duo is set to take centre stage against Egypt. Messi and Alvarez worked brilliantly together when Argentina lifted the World Cup in 2022, and Scaloni has turned to the same duo again as the World Cup enters the crunch stage. Lautaro Martinez started Argentina's first four games of World Cup 2026, but he has been benched today.

Lionel Messi is one goal away from tying the record of the most goals by an Argentina player in a single FIFA World Cup, and two goals away from making the record all his own. The record is currently held by Guillermo Stabile, who scored eight goals in the 1930 World Cup, 96 years ago. Messi has seven so far in the 2026 edition, and he also netted seven in 2022.

Argentina XI vs Egypt: Here's the Argentina starting XI to take on Egypt in the Round of 16 match today. The three reported changes have been confirmed. Julian Alvarez will partner Lionel Messi in attack, Leandro Paredes comes in central midfield, and Nicolas Tagliafico starts at left-back.

#FIFAWorldCup

Once inicial confirmado!

Asi formara #Argentina para el duelo ante #Egipto

#TodosJuntos por un mismo sueno pic.twitter.com/VIR5uK0uap

— Seleccion Argentina (@Argentina) July 7, 2026

Argentina are officially yet to release their starting lineup on social media, but according to reports, manager Lionel Scaloni has made three big changes to Argentina's starting XI. The big switch is at striker: Lautaro Martinez is OUT, Julian Alvarez is IN. One change each in midfield and defence too, with Thiago Almada and Facundo Medina going out, and being replaced by Leandro Paredes and Nicolas Tagliafico.

Egypt already achieved a historic feat with their Round of 32 win over Australia, as they progressed past the first knockout round in a World Cup for the very first time. Today, if they beat Argentina, not only will it be the biggest upset of the World Cup, but Egypt will also advance to the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the very first time.

Egypt XI vs Argentina: Here's the Egypt starting XI to take on Argentina in the Round of 16 match today. Mohamed Salah starts in attack, but surprisingly, Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush is not in the starting lineup!

Our Starting XI against Argentina in the round of 16 #egyptnt#FIFAWORLDCUP pic.twitter.com/PGIZkOYZ4C

— Egypt National Team (@EgyptNT_EN) July 7, 2026

Lionel Messi owns almost every record under the sun when it comes to the FIFA World Cup. Most goals, most wins for a player, most matches played as captain -- you name it, he has it. But there is one place where he is not No. 1.

As per FIFA's power ranking of the best attackers of World Cup 2026, Messi is currently third, behind Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 encounter between Argentina and Egypt. We are at the Atlanta Stadium today, for what is set to be a blockbuster clash. Stay tuned to NDTV Sports for all the live updates from the match!