Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi, staged a remarkable late comeback to defeat Egypt and book a place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Tuesday. Trailing 2-0 deep into regulation time, the defending champions produced an extraordinary turnaround by scoring three times in roughly 15 minutes.
Cristian Romero sparked the revival with a goal in the 79th minute before Messi levelled the contest four minutes later. Enzo Fernandez then completed the dramatic fightback with a stoppage-time winner to seal Argentina's place in the last eight.
The tense finale was marked by heated scenes on the sidelines as emotions spilled over in the Egyptian camp. A confrontation involving Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan and Messi near the touchline quickly gained traction on social media.
The incident attracted further attention when Hassan made FIFA's anti-racism gesture immediately after the exchange, leaving Messi visibly surprised. Match officials stepped in to calm the situation, while several Argentina players also intervened before play resumed.
After the match, Hassan expressed his frustration and claimed his side had been denied a fair outcome.
"Argentina's victory is entirely undeserved. I promise you, once I return today, I will not watch football in this World Cup at all, because there is no justice in it. My personal protest is that I will not watch this World Cup again. When I get back home and back to our country, I am not watching it," Hassan told reporters after the match.
"We had the right to win, and I don't want to say 'hard luck' to us - no. We left with honour, honour on our part. But the final result, aside from being highly influenced, is a far cry from the 'fair play' that FIFA talks about and far from respect. There was neither respect nor fair play today," he added.
Hassan went on to suggest that influences beyond the football itself had shaped the outcome.
"We looked better than the reigning champions -- better in every way --, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it," he said.
"Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level," he added.
"I want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly, and it has been an injustice," he added.
Also Read |Watch | "I'll never watch World Cup again": Egypt coach claims FIFA favoured Messi
