Egypt coach Hossam Hassan alleges injustice in World Cup loss to Argentina

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan alleges injustice in World Cup loss to Argentina

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has claimed his team was cheated out of a World Cup quarterfinal berth after Argentina overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 on Tuesday in Atlanta. Following the match, Hassan alleged that officiating bias and external pressures favored the defending champions and their star player, Lionel Messi.

The match, played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, saw Egypt take an early lead in the 15th minute via a header from Yasser Ibrahim. Despite their underdog status, Egypt maintained control through the first half, aided by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who saved a penalty from Messi in the 21st minute. This save made Messi the first player in World Cup history to miss two penalties in a single tournament, having previously missed one against Austria in the group stage.

Controversy intensified in the second half.

Mostafa Zico scored a goal that would have doubled Egypt's lead, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) disallowed it after spotting a foul on Argentina's Lisandro Martínez.

Zico later scored a legitimate goal to make the score 2-0. However, Argentina rallied with goals from Cristian Romero in the 79th minute and Messi in the 83rd. The match was decided in the 92nd minute when Enzo Fernández scored a header to secure the 3-2 victory.

Hassan and his players contended that Egypt should have been awarded a penalty in the buildup to Fernández's winning goal. While some reports cite a foul by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy, other accounts suggest a foul on Mohamed Salah by Julián Alvarez. Hassan claimed the incident was not even checked by VAR.

In an explosive post-match press conference, Hassan stated,

"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today; we have suffered injustice,"

Hossam Hassan, Egypt head coach, via Al Jazeera

Hassan questioned the appointment of French referee François Letexier and suggested the result was engineered to ensure Messi remained in the competition. Speaking to beIN Sports, he asked, Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Perhaps they wanted (Lionel) Messi to stay in the running? He added that the world champions received support at every level due to external factors beyond technical aspects.

The coach's frustration manifested on the pitch, where he was booked for dissent and for showing the referee FIFA's anti-racism gesture. Hassan declared he would no longer watch the tournament, stating, I am not going to continue following the matches of this World Cup as a way of standing up against the perceived injustice.

Player Mostafa Zico echoed these sentiments, stating, It is clear this tournament has been fixed.

Beyond the officiating, Hassan criticized the scheduling of the match. He questioned the 12pm (16:00 GMT) kick-off time, noting it occurred only four days after the round of 32 matches.

"Whoever schedules those matches has never played football. You never schedule a game for 12pm,"

Hossam Hassan, Egypt head coach, via Al Jazeera

The tournament continues with several upcoming fixtures:

• France vs. Morocco: Boston, Thursday 9pm
• Spain vs. Belgium: LA, Friday 8pm
• Norway vs. England: Miami, Saturday 10pm
• Argentina vs. Colombia/Switzerland: Kansas City, Sunday 2am