ARGENTINA produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, recovering from two goals down to defeat Egypt 3-2 in a pulsating Round of 16 encounter in Atlanta and book a place in the quarter-finals, where the reigning champions will face either Colombia or Switzerland.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that while Argentina celebrated an extraordinary escape powered by goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernandez, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan insisted his side had been treated “unfairly,” accusing match officials of injustice and declaring he would not watch the remainder of the tournament following the controversial defeat.
The Pharaohs appeared destined to produce one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history after racing into a 2-0 lead against the three-time world champions.
Egypt, making its best World Cup appearance since 1934 and featuring in the tournament for the first time since 2018, had never previously won a World Cup match before this competition. After eliminating Australia in the Round of 32, the North Africans were only minutes away from knocking out one of football’s biggest favourites.
Their breakthrough came in the 15th minute when Yasser Ibrahim rose above Lisandro Martinez to power Marwan Attia’s cross into the bottom corner, sending Egyptian supporters into wild celebrations.
Argentina had an immediate opportunity to level when Haissem Hassan brought down Nicolas Tagliafico inside the penalty area five minutes later.
However, Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced a superb save to deny Lionel Messi from the penalty spot. The save meant Messi has now failed to convert four of his eight World Cup penalties and became the first player in tournament history to miss two penalties in a single World Cup edition, excluding shootouts.
Shobeir continued his remarkable first-half display with excellent saves from Alexis Mac Allister’s header before producing a brilliant one-handed stop to deny Julian Alvarez just before halftime.
Egypt thought they had extended their advantage shortly before the hour mark when Mostafa Zico found the net, but the effort was ruled out after a VAR review.
The disappointment was short-lived as Zico eventually doubled Egypt’s lead midway through the second half after finishing Hossam Hassan’s delivery, leaving Argentina staring at a sensational elimination.
With little sign of a comeback, Argentina finally found a lifeline in the 79th minute when Cristian Romero headed home to halve the deficit and ignite hopes of another great World Cup recovery.
Five minutes later, Messi redeemed his earlier penalty miss by smashing a loose ball into the net via the underside of the crossbar to draw Argentina level and set up a frantic finish.
Just when extra time appeared inevitable, Enzo Fernandez completed the remarkable turnaround two minutes into stoppage time, heading home Lautaro Martinez’s cross to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.
The winning goal arrived moments after Egypt believed they should have been awarded a penalty following a challenge on captain Mohamed Salah, triggering furious protests from the Egyptian bench.
Fernandez’s decisive header also entered the history books as the 3,000th goal scored in FIFA World Cup history.
Despite fierce competition from some of football’s biggest stars, Messi once again demonstrated his enduring brilliance on the grandest stage.
The 39-year-old entered the match as the tournament’s joint-leading scorer alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe and the all-time highest World Cup goalscorer with 20 goals.
His equaliser against Egypt took his tally to 21 World Cup goals and made him the first player in tournament history to score in six consecutive knockout-stage matches.
Messi has also now scored eight goals in the opening five matches of a single World Cup edition, the highest total since Gerd Müller achieved the same feat for Germany in 1970.
The Inter Miami forward was overcome with emotion after Fernandez’s late winner, breaking down in tears as Argentina completed one of the greatest recoveries in World Cup history.
However, the celebrations on the Argentine side contrasted sharply with the anger in the Egyptian camp.
Speaking after the match through FIFA’s official translation, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said the defeat extended beyond football.
“I think the effect of this outcome goes beyond the defeated seat. We haven’t seen respect nor fair play.”
“I’m not convinced with this outcome, with the way things unfolded in this match. I do not want to try to put it nicely with beautiful wording, selective words, saying hard luck and so and so forth. We’ve been treated unfairly today. We’ve suffered injustice.”
Hassan insisted there were several issues surrounding the match that deserved closer scrutiny.
“There are a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch, negative aspects all around.”
The Egyptian coach also announced that he would not watch any more matches at the tournament following his country’s elimination.
His frustration was evident at the final whistle when he engaged in a heated exchange with French referee Francois Letexier, suggesting the official had “something to hide.”
Egypt’s grievances centred on two controversial moments, the VAR decision that disallowed Zico’s earlier goal and the failure to review the late challenge on Mohamed Salah inside the penalty area shortly before Argentina’s winning goal.
Several Egyptian players echoed their coach’s frustrations after the match, accusing the referee of bias.
FIFA had yet to issue any formal response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
While Argentina marched into the quarter-finals after another dramatic escape—having also been taken to extra time by Cape Verde in the previous round, Egypt departed the tournament heartbroken after producing one of the finest performances in their World Cup history, only to see their dream ended in devastating fashion by the defending champions.