ATLANTA: Egypt coach Hossam Hasan expressed his disappointment and claimed his team had been ‘cheated’ in the FIFA World Cup 2026 last 16 defeat to Argentina.
Argentina made a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at the Atlanta Stadium in front of a crowd of 68,239 and booked their place in the quarter-finals.
The Pharaohs dominated for much of the match, but Cristian Romero sparked Argentina’s revival before Lionel Messi equalized five minutes later, setting up a dramatic finale.
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Enzo Fernandez completed the turnaround in stoppage time by heading in Lautaro Martinez’s cross, sending Argentina into the last eight, where they will face either Colombia or Switzerland.
Egypt were left frustrated after a penalty appeal involving Mohamed Salah was waved away moments before the decisive counter-attacking goal.
After the match, Hossam lamented the outcome, saying his side had been treated unfairly.
“I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice,” Hassan said in an explosive press conference.
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“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play,” Hassan said.
He also criticised the officiating, particularly the penalty decision and the disallowed goal.
“A penalty was ruled out, was not even checked by VAR. A second goal was remarkably disallowed. There has not even been a VAR check when we have all seen the image of the (shirt) being pulled back.”
Hassan added that he would not continue following the remainder of the World Cup, describing it as his own way of speaking up.
“I am not going to continue following the matches of this World Cup, watching the matches of this World Cup.”
“This is my own way of speaking up,” he concluded.
READ: Argentina pull off comeback for the ages to knock out Egypt
