To their and Argentina’s shock, Egypt not only proved to be a handful but almost pushed the reigning champions to the brink of exit from the tournament. Goals from Christian Romero, Messi and Enzo Fernandez, however, neutralised a two-goal lead to win the game 3-2.
Tensions soared after multiple VAR calls appeared to go in favour of the La Albiceleste, prompting reactions from Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan and his players in the dugout.
Here are all the controversial moments and calls from the Argentina vs Egypt game:
Fizeram um compilado de 4 minutos mostrando os lances em que a Argentina foi favorecida contra o Egito.
Simplesmente um escândalo mundial. Quanta sujeira envolvida. ???? pic.twitter.com/od2BQ1bZY1
— FLA Henrique (@flahenriquebr) July 7, 2026
Nicolás Tagliafico pushes down Haissem Hassan
The first clip in the video shows Argentinian left-back Nicolás Tagliafico obstructing Egyptian forward Haissem Hassan and shoving him down to the ground with his elbow.
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The video highlights an incident near the edge of Argentina‘s penalty box where an Argentinian player clipped Mohamed Salah. The referee waved play on and refused to award Egypt a dangerous free-kick.
Egypt’s goalkeeperpushed down
An Argentinian forward pushed down Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, for which the video suggests the player deserved a booking.
Egypt’s second goal disallowed
Egypt’s Mostafa Ziko scored a magnificent goal for the Pharaohs in the second half, but it was disallowed on account of a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez. It is one of the biggest talking points from the match. The video contrasts it with a foul which Argentina had committed in the build-up to a goal against Austria.
Molina slaps Emam Ashour
In another incident, Argentinian player Nahuel Molina apparently slapped Egyptian midfielder Emam Ashour without facing any consequences.
Two fouls, a missed potential penalty for Egypt
The video shows two suspected fouls committed by Argentinian players in their box which did not even lead to a VAR check. In the second one, Egypt striker Mo Salah fell down in Argentina’s box, and this happened just before Argentina’s third goal. Had a penalty been awarded, Egypt could have potentially won the match.
After Argentina’s winning goal, the Egyptian goalkeeper demanded a VAR check, but to no avail.
The video has led to several reactions. One user wrote, “How they manage to pull out such in front of the whole world is crazy!”
One user posted a sarcastic image where Argentinian players are celebrating by tossing up the referee.
Craque do jogo pic.twitter.com/nQ29t8MTl0
— Leticia ???? (@letttpacheco) July 8, 2026
Egypt’s football coach Hossam Hassan minced no words about how he felt about the outcome.
“I’m going to say what I think regardless of the consequences. This was clearly a manipulated match, and the whole world saw it.”
“And I want to say one more thing: if they want Argentina to win so badly, why do they invite everyone to come and participate?” he fumed.
