Argentina’s path toward a potential World Cup final became shorter after eliminating Egypt in one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament. Mostafa Ziko scored for the Pharaohs, just as Lionel Messi did, but the Egyptian forward, as coach Hossam Hassan, later criticized the referee’s performance during the match.
“No fair, no fair, referee no fair. Unjust… it is a clear and obvious injustice,” he said to the press once the game concluded. “He is wasting the effort of an entire country. From the very beginning of the match, he was against us. It’s not right to go out like this, losing 2-0 to Argentina. It’s a rigged tournament.”
Additionally, Ziko pointed directly at referee François Letexier: “I apologize to them (Egyptian fans). We wanted to make them happy today. We couldn’t do that, but I swear it wasn’t in our hands. It was in the referee’s hands. The tournament is obviously rigged anyway.”
The interview concluded with an ironic message: “Congratulations. Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup, congratulations. We don’t need anything else from it, that’s it.“
Mostafa Zico #11 of Egypt celebrates scoring his team’s second goal.
The controversies behind Argentina’s victory over Egypt
Egypt felt aggrieved by the referee’s performance, particularly over a key decision involving a disallowed goal after VAR review. A foul on Lisandro Martinez before Mostafa Ziko’s finish forced referee François Letexier to reverse the decision and rule out the Pharaohs’ goal.
Argentina’s first, scored by Cristian Romero with a header, also appeared to involve controversy. However, the central defender was clearly onside, making the goal completely legitimate.
What’s next for Argentina?
Argentina’s historic comeback sent the Albiceleste back into the quarterfinals. Lionel Scaloni’s team will now face the winner of the match between Colombia and Switzerland.
The next round will be played on Saturday, July 11, at Kansas City Stadium, the same venue where Argentina began their World Cup campaign with a victory.
