Egypt’s remarkable feat at the 2026 World Cup suffered a dramatic blow as Argentina struck in the second minute of stoppage time to complete a stunning fightback and win a breathless last-16 tie 3-2, breaking African hearts and booking their place in the quarter-finals.
Egypt made the perfect start, Yasser Ibrahim heading them in front after just 15 minutes, and their advantage was nearly doubled before half-time when Argentina were reduced to damage limitation, Lionel Messi’s penalty saved to keep the score at 1-0. Egypt appeared to have their second midway through the second half through Mostafa Zico, only for VAR to disallow the goal after ruling that Marwan Attia had fouled Argentina’s Lisandro Martínez in the buildup. Zico was not to be denied for long, however, finding the net soon after to put Egypt 2-0 up and within touching distance of a first-ever World Cup quarter-final.
Argentina’s response, when it came, was ruthless. Cristian Romero headed in from a Messi cross in the 79th minute, before Messi levelled matters himself four minutes later with a first-time strike — his eighth goal of the tournament, extending his own record of scoring in eight consecutive World Cup matches. Egypt’s appeals for a penalty after Hamdy Fathy went down under a challenge were waved away moments later, and Argentina broke forward to snatch the winner, Enzo Fernández heading home in stoppage time to complete the turnaround.
The aftermath proved almost as dramatic as the match itself. Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was booked for crossing his arms in an “X” shape immediately after the winner, and did not hold back afterwards, accusing officials of bias and insisting the result was undeserved. Zico, denied a goal himself, went further, branding the competition unfair at full-time.
Former England goalkeeper Rob Green and former captain Alan Shearer both questioned the VAR decision on air, while the Egyptian Football Association has since confirmed it has lodged a formal complaint with FIFA, alleging serious officiating errors and calling for an investigation into referee François Letexier and his team.
Egypt sank to their knees at the final whistle, history glimpsed but never grasped. Argentina move on to face Switzerland in the quarter-finals, while Egypt’s players trudge off knowing they gave everything against one of the tournament favourites.
