Egypt’s fury as Argentina storms back in the last 16
Egypt lost its Round of 16 match against Argentina on Tuesday after leading 2-0. Argentina scored three times in the space of 13 minutes at the end of the match to take the game. The winner came in the third minute of stoppage time, and Argentina won 3-2 after Egypt had led for most of the contest.
A lead built and then erased
Egypt went 1-0 up in the 15th minute and later thought it had doubled the lead just before the hour mark. The referee ruled that goal out after VAR identified a foul on Lisandro Martínez in the buildup, which had resulted in Egypt regaining the ball.
Mostafa Ziko then made it 2-0, leaving the defending champion on the brink of elimination. Argentina’s comeback shifted the match completely, and the Egyptian bench was incandescent with rage over decisions in the closing stages.
Disputed penalties and a coach’s protest
Egypt’s coaching staff claimed they should have been awarded a penalty in the buildup to Enzo Fernández’s winning goal, after Mohamed Salah went down in the Argentina box under contact with Julián Álvarez. VAR did not ask the referee to review the incident. The bench had also argued for a penalty when Alexis Mac Allister looked to have slightly pulled Hamdy Fathy down moments before.
“We have been treated unfairly today,” coach Hossam Hassan told reporters after a match that ended in a flurry of cards for Egyptian players and staff who confronted the referee. “We have suffered injustice.”
“There has not been respect or fair play because a penalty was ruled out,” Hassan added. “A second ball that should have been called as a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR.”
Hassan was seen making a cross gesture with his arms during the commotion, a symbol introduced by FIFA for managers to alert referees of a racist incident, but he did not mention it in his post-match media duties. Instead, he vowed to stop watching the tournament altogether.
“I promise you, from the moment I go back, I’m not going to continue following the matches of this FIFA World Cup,” he said. “This is my internal fight, my internal objection, my own way of speaking up and standing up.”
Federation demands investigation
Egypt’s soccer federation has called on FIFA to launch an investigation into the match referee and urged the governing body to kick the officiating team out of the tournament. Match referee François Letexier did not score the goals against Egypt; Argentina did, and Egypt was still 2-0 up with less than 15 minutes remaining before falling apart under pressure.
Messi at 39 still leads the way
Lionel Messi inspired Argentina’s comeback at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in front of 68,239 spectators and earned the Player of the Match award. He is leading the tournament’s goalscoring chart with eight goals at the age of 39.
Messi missed another penalty against Egypt, becoming the first player to miss two in the same tournament excluding shootouts. He has now missed half of his eight World Cup penalty attempts. “What he’s doing is incredible, and we just try to help him, support him and enjoy every moment alongside him,” said Argentina forward Julián Álvarez.
Argentina faces Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Sunday. The tournament takes a break today, with no games before the quarterfinals begin on Thursday.
Ronaldo’s final World Cup ends flat
Cristiano Ronaldo played his last match at a World Cup. He became Portugal’s captain and the Seleção’s all-time best player.
He led Portugal to Euro 2016. The team also won two Nations League titles, in 2019 and 2025.
A Portugal supporter reflecting on the tournament said Father Time has now caught up with the 39-year-old. According to Opta Stats, Ronaldo is the only player with over 500 minutes played without dribbling past an opponent.
Those minutes came at the 2022 and 2026 World Cups. He had 17 shots and created zero chances for teammates at this World Cup.
That shot total is the most by a player without registering a single chance created at a World Cup in 60 years. The same observer placed responsibility on manager Roberto Martínez for playing Ronaldo nearly every game for 90 minutes despite underperformance, while still calling him one of the best players he has ever seen.