ATLANTA : Egypt’s World Cup campaign ended in bitter disappointment on Tuesday as they squandered a two-goal lead against Argentina in the last 16, but their run still marked the nation’s best performance at the tournament after a series of historic firsts.
Argentina fought back from 2-0 down with 11 minutes remaining to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory, with Enzo Fernandez scoring the stoppage-time winner to send the defending champions into the quarter-finals.
The defeat sparked angry protests from the Egyptian camp, with coach Hossam Hassan questioning the officiating and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) later issuing a statement saying several decisions had directly influenced the outcome.
Egypt were particularly aggrieved after Mostafa Zico’s 62nd-minute goal was disallowed following a VAR review that identified a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez in the build-up.
Zico found the net again five minutes later with a similar finish, restoring Egypt’s two-goal advantage.
The EFA also criticised the decision not to award a late penalty after Mohamed Salah went down in the area shortly before Argentina launched the move that led to Fernandez’s winner.
“Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game,” the federation said in a statement on Wednesday.
While Egypt’s frustrations centred on the officiating, they also paid the price for retreating after taking a commanding lead.
Having largely succeeded in limiting Lionel Messi’s influence for much of the contest, Egypt gradually dropped deeper, allowing Argentina to dominate possession before mounting their late comeback.
Coach Hossam Hassan had departed from the more conservative approach that had characterised Egypt’s earlier matches, opting for a more expansive game plan while assigning defenders to rotate responsibility for marking Messi.
Egypt also suffered a setback when midfielder Emam Ashour was forced off at halftime with what appeared to be a groin injury.
Despite the painful exit, Egypt leave the tournament having achieved several milestones.
They recorded their first World Cup victory, advanced beyond the group stage for the first time and reached the knockout rounds for the first time in the country’s history.
“While the result is now part of history, our pride in this team remains unchanged,” the EFA said.
“Their courage, commitment, and fighting spirit throughout the tournament earned respect and reflected the true values of Egyptian football.”
