During the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match held at Atlanta Stadium, Egypt suffered a 3-2 loss to Argentina, sparking complaints from Egyptian players and coaches about controversial officiating decisions. Egypt had initially taken a 1-0 lead and appeared to score a second goal, which was later disallowed following a VAR review that identified a foul occurring approximately 20 seconds earlier on the opposite side of the pitch.

Egypt's head coach, Hossam Hassan, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the officiating, stating, "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."

He further commented, "I want to put it in beautiful words and say, ‘Hard luck,’ but we have been treated unfairly, and it has been an injustice." Hassan suggested that external factors may have influenced the outcome, saying, "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running."

Despite Egypt's belief that they performed better than the reigning champions, Hassan noted that "the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it."

The match featured Lionel Messi scoring Argentina's second goal, contributing to the final 3-2 scoreline. Former US men's team defender Jonathan Bornstein also commented on FIFA's decision to reverse Balogun's red card suspension, allowing him to participate in the critical match.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been widely regarded as a success, with visiting fans praising the experience and hospitality in the United States.

Sources