By Ari’ Browley
The long-awaited World Cup 2026 has been nothing short of outstanding. Showcasing admirable athletes and stunning gameplay, football fans can’t help but be glued to their screens, anticipating who will take home the next big trophy. But is the World Cup as real as its watchers think, or is it just another scripted show? That’s exactly what more audiences begin to question after watching Argentina versus Egypt.
On Tuesday, July 7, Argentina and Egypt hit the field for the 95th World Cup 2026 tournament. For most of the match, Egypt was leading, gaining 2-0 against Argentina. About an hour and a half into the game, Argentina made a quick comeback with star player Lionel Messi scoring the first goal against Egypt. Their momentum continued with Argentina’s Cristian Romero and Enzo Fernandez scoring the team two more goals by the end of the game. The final score was 3-2, with Argentina claiming victory and securing their position in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals.
While Argentina celebrated their success, Egypt and football fans around the world began to suspect their win to be under false pretenses.
But what issues did people see with this match? There were several.
For one, a goal was retracted from Egypt’s team due to what the VAR (video assistant referee) deemed a foul. VAR is a technological assistant that helps referees review footage and make difficult decisions during a match. Officials and football fans have criticized its usage and inconsistent reliability.
The VAR’s decision is not the only part of the match Egypt’s team and others questioned.
By the end of the match, Argentina had 13 fouls while Egypt had 11. Out of those fouls, Egypt was yellow-carded (a warning) by French referee Francois Letexier four times, while Argentina faced no penalties for their 13 fouls. Egypt and watchers saw an unfairness in how the referee punished the different teams, claiming that Argentina was favored in the game.
People were most frustrated by what they saw as bad sportsmanship on Argentina’s end.
Recapped footage revealed that at multiple points in the game, Argentina went unpenalized for the unsporting conduct presented (in the context of the FA’s guidelines) towards their counterparts. For example, a moment when Argentinian player Nahuel Molina aggressively hit Egyptian player Emam Ashour went without penalty. Another moment when Mohammed Saleh, Captain of the Egyptian team, was tripped by an Argentinian player also went without penalty.
After viewing this, Hossam Hassan, head coach of Egypt, raised an official Anti-Racism gesture in an attempt to stop and review the game. The gesture, highlighted in the FIFA Anti-Racism campaign, can be used by players, officials, and referees to signal racial abuse. However, the game was not stopped, and Hassan was once again yellow-carded by Letexier for his persistence on the matter.
Disheartened by the game’s result, Mostafa Ziko, Egypt’s left winger, spoke with BBC reporters to explain what went wrong.
“The referee was really not fair. Not fair. The referee was not fair,” Ziko said. “The injustice was clear. We did a good job in the early stages of the match. There’s been an unfairness right from the start of the match. A 2-0 lead isn’t enough to beat Argentina. It’s clear that this tournament has been fixed. But God is sufficient for us.”
Ziko is not the only person claiming that the game was rigged.
“We had the right to win,” Hassan said. “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 heavily 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.”
The major loss has led Hassan to a ‘personal protest.’
The Egyptian team’s confidence in speaking out is no surprise considering their recent support and dedication to honoring Palestinians facing genocide, a topic others find too controversial. Fans and press began to suspect that the team’s outspokenness on genocide caused unfair treatment. However, when questioned, Hassan was quick to break away from that angle.
“Football should be for the press and players to support a humanitarian cause,” Hassan said. “By the way, where kids are being killed, they wear Argentina, Barcelona, Man City, Real Madrid jerseys. You see these people love you and they love football. But they are getting killed, and you are staying silent.”
On Wednesday, July 8, Egypt’s Team Federation filed a FIFA complaint against the referee and the VAR usage during the match. The same day, Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of FIFA’s refereeing, responded to the controversy in an interview published by FIFA. Collina defended Argentina’s win, VAR usage, and French referee Francois Letexier.
“Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be a part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said. “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that leads to threats against them and their families. This is not right. Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even the FIFA President (Gianni Infantino).”
With the 2022 World Cup and two other World Cup wins under their belt, Argentina has proved their gifted nature and hunger for success. But speculation on whether Argentina truly beat Egypt in this match continues.
While Argentina fans continue to rave over their close-call victory, Egypt and other watchers wonder what could have been.
