Egypt coach Hossam Hassan claimed the World Cup is being directed towards Argentina as he fumed at several key refereeing decisions after the defending champions knocked out his side with a remarkable last-16 comeback. Hassans side looked on course for a stunning upset after goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko had Egypt 2-0 in front with 11 minutes of normal time to play.But Argentina roared back to keep their hopes of back-to-back titles alive, Cristian Romero pulling one back before Lionel Messi fired in his eighth goal of the tournament in off the crossbar to equalise.Argentina completed the turnaround in the third minute of stoppage time as Enzo Fernandez headed in at the far post from Lautaro Martinezs deep cross.That goal was met with furious protests from Egypt, who claimed Mohamed Salah had been fouled in the build-up to Fernandezs decisive effort and that they should instead have been awarded a penalty at the other end. Ziko had earlier seen a wonderful team goal chalked off by VAR for an Egypt foul deep inside their own half.Those decisions left Hassan, who saw a member of his backroom team shown a red card amid the fallout from Fernandezs goal, to point an accusing finger at FIFA.We havent seen respect or fair play, he told a press conference. |A penalty was ruled out and a second [incident] that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isnt there any fairness in sports? Im not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. Hes wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina.Ziko seemingly concurred with his coachs assessment.He told Canadian broadcaster TSN: It was not fair from the referee. It was really not fair, that was very clear. He wasted all of our efforts with his decisons. We were leading 2-0 and we cannot do anything, its all up to God.We are so sorry [to the people of Egypt]. I am so sorry. We wanted to make you all happy. It was not in the cards. It was the referee. Congratulations to Argentina on the second Cup. Topics 2026 FIFA World Cup Argentina National Football Team Egypt national football team Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read World Cup 2026: Switzerland 0-0 Colombia (4-3) on pens) Vargas books quarter-final clash with Argentina Nicholas McGee 8th July, 2026 Messi calls World Cup result crazy as Argentina boss gives 12-second interview: Im sorry Ben Miller 7th July, 2026 Lionel Messi: World Cup 2026 playing schedule, fixtures, kick off times, where to watch, confirmed news updates and full Argentina squad Ben Miller 7th July, 2026 World Cup 2026: Full fixtures, dates, games, schedule and results from FIFA football finals Ben Miller 7th July, 2026 Argentina v Egypt: World Cup 2026 live text commentary, updates, goals and stats as it happened Jon Fisher 7th July, 2026 World Cup 2026 live: Switzerland vs Colombia confirmed teams and full line ups, TV channel, online stream and stats Ben Miller 7th July, 2026
