Hossam Hassan accused the referees after Egypt's dramatic elimination: Argentina reached the quarterfinals with a stoppage-time comeback
On July 7, 2026, Egypt was on the verge of one of the greatest victories at the World Cup, but ended the evening in Atlanta in anger, disbelief and sharp accusations against the officiating. Argentina, the reigning world champion, won 3:2 after trailing 0:2 until the closing stages, and Enzo Fernández's decisive goal in stoppage time sparked heated protests from Egyptian players and members of the coaching staff. Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan did not try to soften his message after the match: according to an Associated Press report, he said that his team did not receive fair treatment and that he was not convinced either by the outcome or by the way the match developed.
The controversial moment was the move that preceded Argentina's winning goal. Egypt appealed for a foul in Argentina's penalty area, claiming that one of their players had been pulled and brought down in the final phase of the attack. Referee François Letexier did not point to the spot, and from the continuation of play Argentina launched a quick counterattack. The ball reached Lautaro Martínez on the right side, a cross followed, and Fernández headed in for 3:2, completing the comeback that knocked Egypt out of the tournament.
After the match, Hassan said he did not want to speak in the usual phrases about sporting luck and misfortune. According to AP, he said that Egypt had "suffered an injustice", emphasizing that his national team, in his view, looked better than the defending champion for much of the match. The coach went a step further, saying that he would no longer watch matches of this World Cup because he believes his team was wronged at the moment when it could have secured a historic place in the quarterfinals.
Egypt took the lead, Messi missed a penalty, and Argentina found itself on the brink of elimination
The round-of-16 match was played at Atlanta Stadium, as stated by FIFA's official Match Centre, and the start of the encounter quickly showed that Egypt did not intend merely to defend its own penalty area. The Egyptian team entered the duel aggressively, with a clear intention to use transition, the speed of its wingers and Mohamed Salah's experience in attacking situations. That approach brought a result as early as the 15th minute, when Yasser Ibrahim headed the ball into the net after a cross from Marwan Attia. Argentina was suddenly behind, and Egypt's plan received confirmation on the biggest stage.
Only a few moments after the opening goal, Argentina had a chance to equalize. According to the AP report, Haissem Hassan brought down Nicolás Tagliafico in the penalty area, after which referee Letexier pointed to the penalty spot. Lionel Messi took responsibility, but Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir read his shot and saved the penalty. That moment further boosted Egypt's confidence and deepened the nervousness in Argentina's play, especially because Messi later hit the post in the first half, while Shoubir stopped another major chance from Julián Álvarez.
Egypt briefly celebrated a second goal by Mostafa Zico in the second half, but the goal was disallowed after a video review because of a foul in an earlier phase of the move. That decision already raised the question of criteria, because it involved a situation that had occurred far from the actual end of the attack. Still, Egypt did not lose its rhythm. In the 67th minute, Zico again finished a quick move, this time without VAR intervention, and Egypt took a 2:0 lead. According to The Guardian's live coverage, the move began after an Argentine corner, Salah drove the counterattack, Haissem Hassan broke down the right side and set up Zico for a close-range finish.
At that moment, Argentina looked like a team without a clear way out. The reigning world champion had possession and individual quality, but Egypt managed to close the central space, disrupt Argentina's rhythm and break into dangerous counters. For Lionel Scaloni's team, defeat would have meant the end of its attempt to defend the title, and for Messi, who at the age of 39 was playing in his sixth World Cup, potentially a painful farewell to the tournament at which he had reached the peak of his international career four years earlier.
Three late goals changed everything
The comeback began in the 79th minute. Messi sent the ball into the penalty area from a set piece, and Cristian Romero headed in to reduce the score to 2:1. That goal did not immediately mean a complete collapse for Egypt, but it changed the emotional tone of the match. Argentina gained energy, the stands came alive, and Egypt's defense, which until then had looked organized and disciplined, suddenly had to withstand a wave of attacks from a team that had already shown in Qatar 2022 its ability to survive chaotic endings.
Just four minutes later, Messi equalized. According to AP, it was his eighth goal of the tournament and a record increase in his overall World Cup tally. The Guardian described in its coverage that Argentina, in a short spell, linked Messi's cross, Lautaro Martínez's reaction and Julián Álvarez's cushioned ball before Messi struck powerfully to make it 2:2. The missed penalty from the first half suddenly became only the introduction to the story of another Argentine comeback.
Egypt tried to respond in the closing stages with attack, not merely by waiting for extra time. It was precisely in that phase that the key moment occurred. In the second minute of stoppage time, the Egyptian players appealed for a penalty after a duel in Argentina's penalty area. According to The Guardian's description of the finish, Egypt believed that Alexis Mac Allister had pulled an opposing player, but the referee did not stop play. In the continuation of the same sequence, Argentina carried out a quick attack, Lautaro Martínez crossed from the right side, and Enzo Fernández headed in for Argentina's first lead of the match.
The protests continued even after the goal. Egyptian goalkeeper Shoubir received a yellow card for dissent, and one member of Egypt's coaching staff ran onto the pitch and was sent off, according to The Guardian's live coverage. In the final minutes, emotions completely took over the match: Egyptian players demanded an explanation, Argentine footballers tried to preserve their advantage, and the match ended with a result that will be celebrated in Argentina as proof of character, while in Egypt it will be remembered as a night of missed opportunity and a deep sense of injustice.
Hassan: Egypt was better in everything except the result
Hossam Hassan, one of the greatest figures in Egyptian football and the national team coach, did not hide his disappointment. According to AP, he said that Egypt looked better compared with the reigning world champion and that his team was better "in everything except the result". Such a statement reflects the impression the Egyptians left for much of the match: physically strong, tactically compact and dangerous whenever space opened behind Argentina's back line.
Hassan's claims, however, do not refer only to the general impression of the game, but to a specific feeling that the key decisions went Argentina's way. First, Egypt had a goal disallowed after a VAR review because of a foul that had occurred earlier in the move, and then in the closing stages no penalty was awarded at the moment when the match was breaking open. After the match, the coach emphasized that he did not agree with the way the duel unfolded and that he did not want to reduce the defeat to ordinary sporting misfortune.
Such statements will almost certainly intensify the debate about refereeing criteria, the role of VAR and the perception of major national teams at top-level tournaments. In football, the difference between permitted contact and a foul is often a matter of judgment, but the problem arises when teams feel that similar situations are interpreted differently. In this case, the Egyptian side believes that the contact for which their goal was disallowed was treated more strictly than the contact in Argentina's penalty area in the closing stages of the match.
The official match report and any subsequent reports by the competent bodies will be important for the disciplinary aspect of the story, especially because of the cards and the sending-off of a member of the coaching staff. But the sporting outcome does not change through later debates: Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals, and Egypt was eliminated after a match in which it long had both the score and the performance needed to progress. That is precisely why Hassan's reaction has a wider resonance than the usual dissatisfaction after defeat.
Argentina survived another major threat
For Argentina, this victory is another chapter in the story of a team that in recent years has often won through pressure, drama and emotional extremes. Associated Press recalls that Argentina had already gone through a demanding match in the previous round against Cape Verde, also with a 3:2 win after additional stress. Against Egypt, the situation was even more dramatic because Lionel Scaloni's team was two goals behind until the 79th minute and looked as though it had run out of solutions.
After the match, according to AP, Scaloni spoke emotionally about a group of players that does not give up. Enzo Fernández, scorer of the winning goal, said that Argentina has a "phenomenal group" that stays together regardless of difficulties. Such statements fit into the narrative of the Argentine national team after winning the title in Qatar: the team is no longer only dependent on Messi's inspiration, although it remains decisive, but relies on a collective ability to survive moments when a match seems lost.
Messi was once again the central figure. He missed a penalty, hit the post, assisted Romero and scored the equalizing goal. According to AP, his goal against Egypt was his eighth of the tournament and a record 21st at World Cups. After the final whistle, he was visibly emotional, which further emphasized the weight of the duel and the fact that every Argentine match at this tournament is also viewed through the possible end of an era.
Argentina now continues its path toward defending the title. According to available reports after the match, in the quarterfinal it awaits the winner of the Switzerland - Colombia duel, and the match is scheduled in Kansas City. From a sporting point of view, the comeback against Egypt could be a strong psychological boost for the rest of the tournament, but at the same time it opened questions about defensive stability, vulnerability to fast counterattacks and dependence on late surges when the score no longer allows waiting.
Egypt leaves the tournament with bitterness, but also proof of its own quality
For Egypt, the defeat is extremely painful because this was not a match in which the outsider only briefly threatened the favorite. The Egyptian national team had a two-goal lead, a disallowed goal, a saved Messi penalty and several periods of play in which it looked more dangerous, more concrete and calmer than Argentina. That is why the Egyptian public, and others beyond it, will analyze this match not only through the final result but also through the question of what happened in the final fifteen minutes.
Hossam Hassan's team showed that it can play against the reigning world champions without an inferiority complex. The defensive block was solid enough to frustrate Argentina for a long time, and the transition fast enough to punish Argentine risk when the full-backs and midfielders pushed high. Mohamed Salah, Zico, Haissem Hassan and their teammates created problems through space, while goalkeeper Shoubir was one of the key figures of the match until the moment when Argentine pressure could no longer be stopped.
Still, football tournaments of this level are often remembered by moments, and Egypt will regret precisely those moments. The disallowed goal, the unawarded penalty in stoppage time, the lost duel before the cross for the third goal and the inability to calm the match after 2:1 turned a great opportunity into elimination. Hassan's words are therefore not only a reaction to one refereeing judgment, but an expression of the feeling that his team was on the threshold of a historic result and that this threshold slipped away at the most controversial possible moment.
On the other hand, Egypt leaves the tournament with a match that shows the national team has the competitive level for the biggest stage. Elimination by Argentina will not erase the impression that the Egyptian team was capable of seriously shaking the defending champion. But the way the duel ended means that sporting analysis will long be intertwined with debate about refereeing, VAR and the line between permitted contact and a foul in the penalty area.
For Argentina, this is another step toward an attempt to defend the title, something no national team has achieved since Brazil in 1962, as AP recalls. For Egypt, this is the end of the road at the 2026 World Cup, but also a match that will remain etched as one of the most dramatic evenings of the tournament: an evening in which the outsider had the champion on the ropes, and then in stoppage time was left without the result, without progression and without peace with the decisions that marked the closing stages.
Sources:
- Associated Press / AP News – report from the Argentina - Egypt match, statements by Hossam Hassan, Enzo Fernández and Lionel Scaloni, and description of the key events (link)
- FIFA Match Centre – official data on the round-of-16 match, stadium, date and officials (link)
- The Guardian – live coverage with the chronology of goals, controversial situations, protests and cards in the closing stages (link)
- ESPN – match page with the score, basic information and statistical record of the encounter (link)