Ranked! The 10 best World Cup comebacks

Nothing matches dragging a game back from the brink on the biggest stage

Argentina came back from two goals down Egypt to book their place in the quarter-finals of World Cup 2026.

It was perhaps the most climactic comeback of this summer’s edition of the tournament, with La Albiceleste’s first goal not plundered until the 79th minute, at which point Lionel Messi got involved, before Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez completed the heist.

That got us thinking about the greatest-ever World Cup comebacks – below are some of the best…

In 2018, Belgium were still at the peak of their Golden Generation powers: Thibaut Courtois in net, a star-studded Premier League defence, Kevin De Bruyne in the middle, Eden Hazard out wide and Romelu Lukaku up top.

So, to go 2-0 down to Japan in the first hour was something of a red-face inducer, and it remained that way until there were only around 20 or so minutes left on the clock.

Jan Vertonghen kicked the round-of-16 comeback off, with perhaps one of the longest-range headers we’ll ever see, before Marouane Fellaini nodded in the equaliser. The fact the winner was scored deep in stoppage time working for FourFourTwo, Manchester United and Football League World. He has been a season ticket holder at Stockport County throughout the Hatters’ meteoric rise from the National League North to League One and is a die-hard Paddy Madden fan.