Thierry Henry declared that his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi is "not human" after the Argentina captain orchestrated a stunning 3-2 comeback victory against Egypt in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16. Speaking on Fox Sports, Henry reflected on Messi's ability to elevate his game when his team needs him most, calling it a unique quality he has witnessed up close.
Henry's emotional reaction to Messi's performance
"First and foremost, look at him crying, and how much that means to him and to the team," Henry said, as quoted by Fox Sports. "It first reminded us that he's human; he's human because he missed some penalty kicks, four out of eight. Then it reminds us again that he's not human!"
Henry and Messi played together at FC Barcelona for three seasons, from 2007 to 2010, helping the club win seven major trophies, including the historic 2009 treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League.
The sleeping beast: Henry recalls training incident
Henry recalled a training-ground incident to explain what motivates Messi. "Don't wake the sleeping beast inside him! That's exactly what's happening, and I've seen it up close in training," he said. He described a moment when a coach refused to call a foul or stop play, and Messi responded by scoring three goals in a row, then turning around and saying: 'Next time, call the foul.' Henry added, "We were all saying: 'Yeah, yeah, next time we'll call the foul!' Because you simply can't stop him. When he gets into that mood, it's very hard to contain him."
Messi's mentality on display against Egypt
Henry said Messi displayed the same mentality against Egypt, refusing to let an earlier penalty miss define his performance. "When his team needs it, he completely elevates his game. We're talking about a player who played 120 minutes in the last match, and yet he elevated his level, started taking the ball and dribbling past almost everyone to try to change the course of the game... wow," he said.
The French great admitted that even after sharing the pitch with football legends like Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho, Messi continued to leave him in awe. "Sometimes when he scored some goals and I was on the field with him, I'd take a second or two to process and say to myself: 'Wow!' Then I'd remember: 'Oh, you're playing now, get back into the match!' That doesn't happen to me much, but he's a unique version of it," he added.
Argentina's dramatic comeback
Messi recovered from his first-half penalty miss to play a decisive role as Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit. After Yasser Ibrahim's opener and Mostafa Ziko's second-half strike put Egypt in control, Cristian Romero sparked the comeback with a header before Messi equalised in the 83rd minute. Enzo Fernandez then scored the stoppage-time winner to send the defending champions into the quarter-finals against Switzerland.
Messi's record-breaking World Cup legacy
Messi's equaliser extended his remarkable World Cup legacy. The 39-year-old became the first player in history to score in nine consecutive FIFA World Cup matches and took his tally in the ongoing tournament to eight goals, matching Guillermo Stabile's Argentina record for the most goals in a single World Cup edition, set in 1930. According to Opta, he also became the first player to score in six successive knockout-stage matches and increased his all-time World Cup record to 21 goals. Despite those achievements, his earlier spot-kick miss made him the first player to miss two penalties in a single World Cup edition (excluding shootouts) and took his career tally of missed World Cup penalties to four, the most by any player.
