Egypt’s brave World Cup ends in a Messi storm and a VAR call that still stings
Football can be breathtakingly cruel, and rarely has it been crueller than it was to Egypt on Tuesday night
By MNTV Staff Writer
Football can be breathtakingly cruel, and rarely has it been crueller than it was to Egypt on Tuesday night.
The Pharaohs, playing in a World Cup Round of 16 for the first time in their history, came within touching distance of one of the most famous results the competition has ever seen — a 2-0 lead over Lionel Messi’s Argentina, the reigning world champions, with eleven minutes to play. They lost 3-2.
And they did so in a manner that will haunt them for years.
Hour of brilliance
For long stretches this was not a smash-and-grab; it was Egypt outplaying the champions.
Yasser Ibrahim rose above Lisandro Martínez to head them in front in the 15th minute, and from there the underdogs defended with courage and countered with menace.
At the heart of it was goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who produced the performance of his life.
In the 21st minute he dived to his left to save a Lionel Messi penalty — one of two spot-kicks Messi has now missed at this tournament, an unwanted first in World Cup history — and he followed it with stunning stops to deny Alexis Mac Allister and a point-blank Julián Álvarez before the break.
Messi also struck the post. Argentina went in behind at half-time in a World Cup match for the first time since 2010.
When Mostafa Zico pounced on the counterattack to make it 2-0 in the 67th minute, Egypt became the first African nation ever to lead the defending world champions by two goals in a World Cup match.
In stadiums and living rooms across Egypt and the Arab world, history felt close enough to touch.
The call that changed everything
But there had already been a moment that, in hindsight, may have decided the night.
Minutes earlier, Egypt had broken the length of the field, Haissem Hassan and Mohamed Salah combining before Zico swept the ball home for what looked a stunning second goal — and a commanding two-goal cushion.
After a lengthy review, the video assistant referee ruled it out for a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez in the build-up, an incident that had occurred almost the entire length of the pitch away from goal.
It divided opinion sharply. On Fox, former England goalkeeper Rob Green was incredulous, marvelling at how far from goal the offence was and questioning whether it fell within VAR’s remit at all.
Egyptian analyst Ahmad Yousef, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, called it plainly the “wrong decision,” pointing to the inconsistency of how far officials were willing to rewind play — and voicing the suspicion felt across Egypt: that had it been an Argentine shirt, the same standard might not have been applied.
Others disagreed; ITV’s Ally McCoist, while lamenting the loss of a fine goal, argued it was “disallowed for the correct reason.”
Egyptian supporters were left to wonder, too, why the build-up to Argentina’s own goals did not draw the same forensic scrutiny.
Whatever the technical merits, the effect was undeniable: Egypt were stripped of a two-goal breakaway that could have put the game beyond reach, and Argentina were handed a reprieve.
Thirteen minutes that broke Egyptian hearts
Even so, at 2-0 with time running down, Egypt were almost there. And then Messi, as he has so often, refused to let his team lose. In the 79th minute he floated a delivery onto the head of Cristian Romero, who powered it past the outstanding Shobeir to make it 2-1.
Four minutes later Messi atoned for his penalty miss himself, lashing home the equaliser from a scramble in the box — his eighth goal of the tournament, his 21st in World Cup history, and a record sixth consecutive knockout match on the scoresheet.
The killer blow came in the second minute of stoppage time.
A ball into the box was nodded down, and Enzo Fernández rose to head Argentina in front for the first time all night.
Three goals in thirteen minutes. From the cusp of glory to elimination, Egypt had been undone in the cruellest possible sequence.
Pride amid pain
There will be time, later, for Egypt to take stock of just how far they came. This was already the finest World Cup campaign in their history — a first-ever knockout victory over Australia, and now a night in which the record seven-time African champions took the world’s best team to the brink and beyond.
Salah, Shobeir, Zico and their teammates gave everything, and for an hour they were the better side.
But that will be scant comfort tonight.
The abiding memory will be of a team that did almost everything right and still came away with nothing — beaten by a moment of Messi magic, and by a VAR decision that, for millions of Egyptians, will feel like an injustice for a long time to come.
Argentina march on to a quarter-final in Kansas City. Egypt go home heartbroken, having reminded the world exactly how good they can be — and how thin the line is between history and heartbreak.
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