Egypt depart World Cup with bitter taste despite breaking new ground

ATLANTA, July 8 : Egypt departed the World Cup feeling hard done by but also paid the price for inviting Lionel Messi to lead an irresistible late charge against them as Argentina fought back to win a thrilling last-16 clash on Tuesday.

Egypt complained bitterly, with coach Hossam Hassan floating conspiracy theories, after their 3-2 defeat, and they did have grounds to feel aggrieved after Mostafa Zico’s 62nd-minute strike was called back for a foul in the build-up, and a claim for a foul on Mohamed Salah in the dying minutes was waved away.

Zico’s effort - he did score a legitimate goal five minutes later in almost the same way - was ruled out after a VAR review on a tug by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez.

There was certainly a push on Martinez, who also had his foot stood on and his jersey tugged, but if Egypt’s complaint is about the consistency of refereeing calls at the World Cup, then they have every right to feel aggrieved because many such similarly physical challenges have been ignored by referees in a conscious effort by FIFA to ensure games flow freely.

Giving a penalty for the foul on Salah would have been termed a soft decision, but what really rankled the Egyptians was that Argentina then went down the other end and won the game.

“Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game,” the Egyptian Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.

By then, however, Egypt’s defences were in tatters, allowing Lautaro Martinez to float in a cross that Enzo Fernandez expertly headed across the goalkeeper and into the corner of the net to complete a remarkable comeback after Argentina had trailed 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining.

ARGENTINA FIGHT BACK

They allowed Argentina to come back at them, sitting dangerously deep after previously having got the right balance of trying to contain Messi while looking to create chances themselves.

Uto makender Hassan, they have been surprisingly defensive, using the outlets of Salah and Omar Marmoush  transitional opportunities.

Against Argentina, Hassan switched his game plan, dropping Marmoush and playing a more expansive game, while having his defenders rotate in keeping an eye on Messi, who was stymied in many of his efforts before the floodgates opened.

Egypt will also look back on the first-half injury to midfielder Emam Ashour as a turning point. He suffered what looked like a groin injury and went off at the break.

Overall, though, they can claim a success, winning at the World Cup for the first time in four attempts, getting out of the group phase and as far as the last 16.

"While the result is now part of history, our pride in this team remains unchanged. Their courage, commitment, and fighting spirit throughout the tournament earned respect and reflected the true values of Egyptian football," the EFA said.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Ed Osmond)