In a weird way, FIFA football and Falcons football now have a unique connection.
Mention the numbers 28-3 to any Falcons fan and you might get a derisive smirk — and maybe some foul language to follow.
Let’s go in the Wayback Machine to February 2017, shall we?
Yes, that Super Bowl got away from the Falcons, who had a 28-3 lead late in the third quarter before Tom Brady and the Patriots rallied for a 34-28 victory — with a touchdown in overtime providing the final margin.
Many Falcons fans could have used therapy or even a “Men in Black” memory-eraser pen to suppress those memories.
Move over, Falcons. Egypt has entered the chat.
In Tuesday’s round of 16 match at Atlanta Stadium, the Pharaohs had a 2-0 lead after Mostafa Zico’s goal in the 67th minute, putting the defending World Cup champion, Argentina, in a Patriots-sized hole.
Enter Cristian Romero, who scored in the 79th minute — assisted by Lionel Messi — to trim the deficit in half. Then in the 83rd minute, Messi scored his 21st career World Cup goal to level the match at 2.
Brady aura.
With Egypt on its heels and the game looking like it was going to extra time, Enzo Fernandez put Argentina ahead 3-2, sending Argentine fans in Atlanta Stadium — and around the world — into euphoria.
That 2-0 lead went up in a puff of smoke, and the defending champions were moving on to the quarterfinals, where they’ll face the winner of Colombia and Switzerland on Saturday.
Egypt’s fans in the stadium were in stunned disbelief, while many of Argentina’s celebrated … well after most of the rest of the crowd had cleared out.
Even Brady got in on the nostalgia, posting to his account on X (formerly Twitter): “Yeah so that might top 28-3.”
It also spawned some pretty funny posts from others, including one that displayed the Falcons logo with the pattern of Egypt’s national flag.
It’s been a tournament that has seen many memorable matches in Atlanta, including Cape Verde holding Spain to a draw in the opening game, along with a thrilling match between England and Congo in the knockout rounds.
Egypt fans can commiserate with Falcons fans on this loss. It’s the farthest the Pharaohs have been in the World Cup, and losing is such sweet sorrow.
In both cases, it took an all-time great in the sport to get it done.
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