2026 FIFA WC: Controversies galore as Argentina declared winner against Egypt
Argentina defeated Egypt in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of Last 16 Tuesday, but not before some controversial decisions that marred the outcome of the all important match.
[Egypt received early lead when Yasser Ibrahim’s brilliant header shocked the Argentina goalkeeper in the 15th minute of the match.]
2026 FIFA World Cup: Argentina defeated Egypt in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of Last 16 Tuesday July 07, 2026, but not before some controversial decisions that marred the outcome of the all important match.
Argentina vs Egypt Tuesday played at Atlanta Stadium went into the latter’s favour in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim sent the ball past the goalkeeper with an excellent header.
Brilliant Football, then Controversies
The reigning champions were clearly under immense pressure. Taking advantage of this, the Pharaohs continued running in attacking mode. And, then Midfielder Mostafa Zico almost took the score to 2-0 in Egypt’s favour.
But, the goal was disallowed after a VAR check determined that midfielder Marawan Attia fouled Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez prior to the goal.
The Egyptians contended that the foul occurred while Argentina was on the attack, the referees however were not convinced, leading to some controversy over whether VAR overstepped its reach.
Earlier, the Egyptian goalkeeper impressed fans by saving a Messi penalty, his second in this tournament, and made superb stops from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez.
Unfazed by the controversial decision, the Egyptian footballers continued their attack with Mostafa Zico again shining in the 67th minute.
The match was clearly in Egypt’s favour and Argentina footballers looked disheartened. The La Albiceleste bounced back and scored two back to back goals in the span of 4 minutes – Cristian Romero shined in 79th minute and Lionel Messi scored his 8th goal of the tournament in 83rd minute.
The score was 2-2 and both the teams were struggling to score the winner. The match went into its fag end, and it was then that Enzo Fernandez sent the ball into the net.
Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian Captain, asked for a VAR Review. The replays showed a similar pattern during the build-up because of which Egypt’s second goal was disallowed after a VAR Review. The referees however were not convinced.
Another decision that left several social media users unhappy was when Egypt were not awarded a penalty in the second half, after Mohamed Salah went down in Argentina's box after a challenge from left-back Nicolas Tagliafico.
Replays showed that Tagliafico may have caught Salah on the toe, causing the Egypt star to lose possession and go down.
Argentina was declared the winner and allowed to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup Quarter Finals where it will face the winner of Switzerland vs Colombia.
Egyptian Footballers, Fans React
Post match, the Egyptian players and football fans slammed the controversial decisions.
"The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. The referre is wasting the effort of an entire nation... The cup is being given to Argentina", Mostafa Zico told in the post-match interview.
In a strongly worded criticism, Egypt Coach Hossam Hassan claimed his side had been "cheated" out of a place in the World Cup Quarter-Finals.
"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today… We have suffered injustice," Hassan said in an explosive press conference.
"If they so badly want Argentina to win, why call everyone to come and participate?" he sarcastically asked.
Questioning the penalty awarded to Argentina, which the Egyptian goalkeeper brilliantly saved, a football fan said, “Never in life was this here a penalty, but since Argentina is FIFA's little darling they didn't even review this SHAME.”
"FIFA is corrupt and there’s no debate who they’re favoring (Messi)", another football fan wrote on social media site X.
One more football fan wrote, "Referee and VAR miss Foul by Argentina that led to their 3rd Goal."
"Egypt bottled a lead but were robbed in the end", another football fan wrote.
Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, a Journalist, listed a number of controversial decisions taken during the 2026 World Cup. "There is no conclusive proof. But the circumstantial evidence that there is pro-Argentina bias in FIFA affecting the World Cup", he wrote.
Messi leads the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot Race
With another goal scored today, Argentina Captain Lionel Messi’s total goal tally in the 2026 FIFA World Cup went to 08.
Messi is closely followed by France Skipper Kylian Mbappe and Norwegian Striker Erling Haaland.
Mbappe and Haaland both have scored a total of 7 goals in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Adidas Golden Boot Race is however wide open as France, Norway still have matches to play so as Argentina.
In another record, Messi on Tuesday surpassed Argentina legend Diego Maradona to claim the record of most assists in World Cup matches. Messi set up Cristian Romero for Argentina's first goal of the match and it was his 9th assist in the competition - one more than Maradona (8).
The Argentina captain also extended his stunning record of scoring in 9 consecutive matches in World Cups.
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