It was a bitter pill to swallow for Egypt as their 2026 World Cup journey came to a heartbreaking end with a Round of 16 loss to Argentina. The fallout began immediately after the final whistle, with Egypt manager Hossam Hassan taking center stage in his postmatch press conference to accuse officials of giving Lionel Messi and the reigning champions preferential treatment.
“I’m going to say what I think regardless of the consequences, this match was clearly manipulated, and the whole world saw it,” Hassan stated during his fiery media session. “And I want to say one more thing: if they want Argentina to win it all so badly, why even bother calling on everyone else to come and participate?”
Hassan’s blistering allegations echoed the raw frustration of Egyptian midfielder Mostafa Ziko, who openly claimed the tournament was “rigged” for Messi and Argentina. The fury was sparked by a highly controversial sequence in the second half, where an apparent second goal for Egypt were contentiously wiped away by VAR for a soft foul in the buildup, paving the way for Enzo Fernandez to eventually hammer home Argentina’s dramatic, match-winning third goal.
While a relieved Argentina squad pivots toward the quarterfinals with their date and venue already set, the explosive comments from the Egyptian camp have cast a massive shadow over the match. Yet, despite the unfolding drama, the history books will simply reflect an astonishing, late-match comeback from the world champions.
Ziko, Omar Marmoush and Mohamed Salah of Egypt.
Messi rides emotional rollercoaster in high-stakes thriller
Egypt caught the giants flat-footed early in the first half when Yasser Ibrahim connected on a brilliant header to open the scoring. Argentina had a golden opportunity to punch right back when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Lionel Messi uncharacteristically missed the spot-kick, burying the holders in an early hole.
The adversity deepened in the second half as Egypt struck again to take a stunning 2-0 lead, leaving a visibly frustrated Messi looking helpless against a resilient defense. The turning point finally arrived in the 79th minute when Cristian Romero found the back of the net to make it 2-1, breathing life back into the captain and his squad.
With momentum squarely on their side, Messi himself buried a loose rebound just minutes later to equalize, sending the Argentine bench and traveling support into absolute euphoria. The great escape was finalized deep in stoppage time when Fernandez struck the winner, prompting a wave of pure emotion from Messi, who was seen crying tears of relief on the pitch as the final whistle blew.
