Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan launched a scathing attack after the Pharaohs suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to reigning champions Argentina in a dramatic FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash in Atlanta.
The Egyptian manager laid claims on match officials and suggested there were external forces working in Argentina’s favour.
The African giants appeared on course for one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history after taking a 2-0 lead against Lionel Messi’s side.
Goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko had Egypt dreaming of a historic quarter-final place, while Messi had earlier missed a penalty.
However, Argentina mounted a stunning late comeback as Cristian Romero pulled one back before Messi equalised with seven minutes remaining.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Enzo Fernández headed home the winner to complete an extraordinary turnaround and send the holders into the last eight.
The finish left Egyptian players and officials furious, particularly over a disallowed Egyptian goal and several controversial refereeing decisions.
‘Perhaps They Wanted Messi to Stay’ – Coach Hassan
Speaking after the match, Hassan suggested that factors beyond football influenced the outcome.
“We looked better than the reigning champions; better in everything, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it.”
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects.”
“The world champion received support at every level.”
The Egyptian coach was especially unhappy with the appointment of French referee, François Letexier and several VAR decisions that went against his side.
“There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome.”
“We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point, and we suffered.”
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play.”
“A penalty was ruled out [an alleged foul on Mo Salah]. It was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.“
“I want to put it in beautiful words and say, ‘Hard luck,’ but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.”
The VAR Decision That Changed Everything
The biggest talking point came shortly after the hour mark.
Egypt thought they had doubled their lead when Mohamed Salah played a brilliant pass through to Mostafa Ziko, who calmly lifted the ball over goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and into the net.
Wild celebrations followed among Egyptian players and fans.
However, the goal was eventually overturned after a VAR review identified a foul by Egyptian midfielder, Marwan Attia on Argentina defender, Lisandro Martínez earlier in the attacking sequence.
According to FIFA’s VAR explanation,
Attia simultaneously held Martínez’s shirt and stepped on his foot, directly impacting Argentina’s defensive transition and leading to the attack that resulted in the goal.
The VAR recommended an on-field review and referee Letexier subsequently disallowed the goal.
While FIFA’s assessment concluded the intervention was correct under the Laws of the Game, Egyptian officials remained unconvinced.
Confrontation With the Referee
Emotions boiled over after the final whistle, with Hassan revealing he confronted Letexier directly.
“What I told the referee was, ‘This is unfair.‘
“I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide.”
“If somebody is trying to hide something, they often fail to hide it.”
‘Strange Things Happened on the Pitch’ – Mostafa Ziko
Goalscorer Mostafa Ziko struggled to hide his disappointment after seeing Egypt surrender a two-goal advantage.
“Hard luck. The match was in our hands and slipped away at the last moment.”
“Strange things happened on the pitch.”
“We were hard done by [the referee] today, and everyone saw that.”
“I won’t talk about something like this. We were winning 2-0. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us.”
“I don’t even know why the second goal was disallowed, I don’t see any reason for it, but we must look for a solution so that a second goal doesn’t come.”
“He wanted to disallow the third one too, but thank God, God didn’t grant him success.”
The forward insisted Egypt never believed the match was already won despite taking control.
“No, we didn’t. It wasn’t in our calculations that the match was already over.”
“We know very well that we are playing against the world champions, and even before the match started, we knew we were playing a strong team, a team that is a title favorite.”
“But I mean, if they had won by their own effort, it would have made a big difference to us.”
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Shobeir Proud Despite Heartbreak
Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir delivered one of the performances of the tournament, saving Messi’s penalty and producing a series of outstanding stops.
Despite the painful defeat, he remained proud of his team’s effort.
“Of course, some mistakes happened from all of us in the last 10 minutes, but in the end, we are also playing against the world champions.”
Reserve Goalkeeper Slams Refereeing
Substitute goalkeeper Mohamed Alaa also questioned the officiating.
“The refereeing was obvious in front of everyone. I won’t talk about it. The refereeing was clear.”
“We had a goal disallowed, and we had a penalty. The penalty was turned against us into a counterattack goal.”
“The objections were only toward the referee, meaning regarding the refereeing errors.”
“That’s what we were objecting to, nothing more than that.”
Alaa then revealed how captain Salah attempted to lift the squad following the devastating defeat.
“Captain Salah entered the locker room, gathered all the players and spoke with them.”
“He said, ‘Hard luck, it’s over. It’s God’s decree and what he willed happened regarding what took place.”
“Let’s build on this, and what’s coming will be good, God willing.’”
Messi’s Redemption Keeps Argentina Alive
For much of the contest, it appeared Messi’s World Cup dream was slipping away.
The Argentine captain saw a first-half penalty saved by Shobeir, marking his second missed spot-kick of the tournament and fourth failed non-shootout World Cup penalty of his career.
But when Argentina desperately needed inspiration, their legendary No.10 delivered.
Messi first created the momentum for the comeback before smashing home the equaliser for his 21st World Cup goal.
The strike extended his remarkable scoring streak to nine consecutive World Cup matches and moved him back to the top of the Golden Boot standings.
Moments later, Fernández’s stoppage-time header completed one of the most dramatic comebacks in World Cup history.
After the final whistle, a tearful Messi embraced teammates as Argentina escaped elimination and booked a quarter-final showdown against Switzerland.
World Cup 2026 Golden Boot Race
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 7 goals
- Kylian Mbappé (France) – 7 goals
- Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals
- Jude Bellingham (England) – 4 goals
- Ousmane Dembélé (France) – 4 goals
- Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 4 goals
- Julián Quiñones (Mexico) – 4 goals
- Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal) – 4 goals
- Vinícius Júnior (Brazil) – 4 goals
