This summer’s World Cup always had the feel of a tournament that would double as a farewell tour for some of football’s most enduring icons.
By the time the competition reached the last-32, the exits had already begun. Luka Modric and Manuel Neuer, two greats who have spent years resisting the passing of time, had both taken their final bows on the world stage.
Neymar’s World Cup journey then came to an end after Brazil’s 2-1 last-16 defeat by Norway, before Monday night brought another significant goodbye as Cristiano Ronaldo bowed out, ending a glittering career without ever lifting football’s most coveted trophy.
For Mohamed Salah, simply reaching this point has already carried historic weight. Egypt are contesting their first World Cup last-16 tie in 92 years, having also claimed their first victory at the tournament with a group-stage win over New Zealand. They followed that by beating Australia on penalties in the last-32, securing the country’s first-ever knockout triumph at a World Cup.
And if Salah’s decisive contribution proves to be his final touch at a World Cup, it was a fitting one. Calm under pressure, he deceived Mathew Ryan with an audacious Panenka penalty to help guide Egypt through.
Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah go head-to-head tonight in the last 16 of the World Cup
Sofascore have prepared a head-to-head comparison between the two legendary players
Messi, meanwhile, already claimed his defining World Cup moment four years ago in Qatar, scoring seven goals in seven matches as he inspired Argentina to glory. This summer, he has already matched that tally in just four appearances, underlining once again why he remains such a formidable presence on this stage.
It’s undoubtedly the Argentine’s best World Cup yet. He’s averaging a goal every 46 minutes and has netted seven from just 15 shots on target. Argentina have scored 11 times in total this tournament, meaning Messi is responsible for 64 per cent of their goals.
Salah, meanwhile, scored two goals in as many matches from just two shots on target at the 2018 World Cup. This time around, Salah has scored once and set up two goals. That takes his total World Cup tally to five goal contributions – a drop in the ocean compared to this evening’s rival.
Messi had scored 20 goals and provided eight assists in 30 World Cup matches, spanning across six tournaments from 2006 to 2026. He has also created 20 big chances in that time and averaged 4.3 shots per game, compared to Salah’s one and 2.5 respectively.
Understandable though, considering Messi has played more than five times the amount of minutes Salah has. However, Salah does average more key passes per game (3.33 compared to Messi’s 2.83), highlighting his creativity going forward as well as his knack for finding the back of the net.
Across all international matches, the scales balance out. Messi, who has netted 124 goals in 203 appearances, finds the back of the net every 135 minutes on average. Salah isn’t far off, he averages a goal every 155 minutes, having scored 66 goals in 118 matches for Egypt.
The odds are well and truly against Salah, with Opta’s supercomputer giving Egypt only an 11.5 per cent chance of beating the reigning champions inside 90 minutes.
It’s a fair assessment, given Argentina are unbeaten in 10 World Cup matches, with their last defeat coming against Saudi Arabia in Qatar. Plus Lionel Scaloni’s side have won their last eight matches on the spin against African nations.
Messi’s World Cup record is far superior to Salah’s, though he has played many more games!
The reigning champions’ World Cup defence has remained intact so far, but they have shown that they aren’t infallible. Cape Verde took Argentina to extra-time in the last-16 and scored twice past Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina, however, boast one of the strongest defences at the tournament so far, conceding an xG of just 2.1. It will certainly take something special to breach that, but then again we know only too well Salah is capable of such magic. Only this time it would be at the expense of Messi’s World Cup career.
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Thanks to Sofascore for the graphics
