2026 World Cup: eliminated by Argentina, Egypt cries scandal

The Egyptian adventure at the 2026 World Cup ended in pain on Tuesday in Atlanta, against defending champion Argentina. Hossam Hassan’s men, however, believed in the feat for a long time: after Yasser Ibrahim’s opener in the first half, then the break scored by Ziko upon returning from the locker room, the Pharaons led 2-0 against an apathetic Albiceleste. But Argentina completely turned the match around in the last quarter of an hour, thanks to goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernández, scorer of the decisive goal in added time (final score: 3-2). After the match, the Egyptians cried foul of the refereeing scandal.

Beyond the cruel scenario, it was above all the refereeing of François Letexier which ignited the powder on the Egyptian side. The Pharaohs notably protested against the cancellation of a goal by Hassan in the 58th minute, invalidated for a foul by Attia on Lisandro Martínez at the start of the action, a decision which could have allowed Egypt to widen the gap much earlier.

Ziko and Hossam Hassan denounce a scandal

At the final whistle, Egyptian striker Ziko did not hide his anger. “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup! Rigged tournament! The referee was unfair. Unfair. Unfair. He constantly tried to stop us and wanted to silence us on the pitch,” he railed.

Coach Hossam Hassan went even further, fully accepting his comments despite the possible consequences. “I’m going to say what I think, whatever the consequences: this match was clearly fixed, and the whole world saw it. And I would like to add one thing: if they want Argentina to win so much, why did they call everyone to come and participate? It’s all about marketing and money. They want Messi, world champion, to stay in the tournament. In football a lot of things are played out off the field according to interests, what happened is unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify, we were superior to Argentina. »

OBN