Egypt is tense after scoring a goal to beat Argentina 3-2 in the World Cup match.
ATLANTA (AP) – For Mohamed Salah and Egypt, what could have been a glorious celebration turned ugly in the end.
On the brink of upsetting the defending World Cup champions, the Pharaohs squandered a two-goal lead late in the game and lost to Lionel Messi and Argentina 3-2 in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
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The winning tally came two minutes into stoppage time and it started off in front of the Egyptian bench. A red card appeared to be shown to an angry staff member, who had to be restrained by following French referee Francois Letexier. Two players on the field received yellow cards for holding Argentina’s last goal.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan crossed his arms – a sign of racial abuse – and said in no uncertain terms that his first team had been victimized by a football club that wanted Messi and Argentina to advance to the quarterfinals in their pursuit of a second successive title.
“We were treated unfairly today,” Hassan said. “We have faced injustice.”
In a competition where allegations have already arisen that American President Donald Trump influenced FIFA to cancel the decision to suspend one American player, Egypt has become hot in the body that oversees soccer.
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“I would like to say that we did not deserve this win,” said Hassan, “but we are leaving with honor, with pride, without defeat.”
Hassan, who came out in support of the Palestinians in this tournament, was upset that the second goal that could have been saved by the review of the video showed a bad bet in Egypt at the beginning of the last game.
Egypt came back to take a 2-0 lead with a goal by Mostafa Zico in the 67th minute, but there was still plenty of time for Argentina to claw their way back at the stadium that is often home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Cristian Romero gave the champions hope with 79. Messi scored his goal from the post after four minutes. And Enzo Fernandez scored for Argentina in the second minute of stoppage time – a game that started at the other end of the pitch when Salah was dispossessed as he tried to break into the penalty area, upside down.
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Even retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady noticed the comeback, taking to social media to reveal that this is the opposite of the one he pulled off against the Falcons in the 2017 Super Bowl, when the New England Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to win 34-28 in overtime.
“Yeah that could be as high as 28-3,” Brady wrote on X.
Hassan didn’t care what Brady had to say. The coach was still furious that the assistant video referee did not see the need for Letexier to review what Egypt felt was a poor play in the penalty area, denying what could have been a shot when they scored a goal with seconds to spare.
“The result of this result is more than the defeat itself because we did not show respect or play properly,” said Hassan. “There was no respect or fair play because there was no penalty. The second ball that should have been called as our penalty was not even checked by VAR.”
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When Salah came out of the break in the Egyptian area which led to Zico scoring a goal, it was seen that the African underdog – a team that had never won a World Cup match until this tournament – was heading for the quarterfinals.
Egypt fell into a defensive shell, looking to protect their seemingly safe lead, until Argentina pulled off another escape route. La Albiceleste needed extra time to beat Cape Verde 3-2 in the round of 32.
It was difficult for Hassan and his players to bear it.
“What the referee told me is that this is wrong,” said the coach. “I was thinking that maybe he is carrying a scar, maybe he is hiding something, even if he is hiding something, sometimes he fails to hide what he is hiding and that is exactly what I felt during the interview.”
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Argentina advanced to face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals.
For Hassan, the competition is over.
He has no intention of watching football again.
“I promise you, since I go back, I will not continue to follow the games of this FIFA World Cup,” he said. “This is my inner battle, my inner resistance, my way of speaking and standing up.
“I will not watch, there is not a single game of this tournament.”
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AP football writer James Robson contributed to this report.
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See more of AP’s World Cup here
