Argentina dramatically beat Egypt 3-2 at the 2026 World Cup: Heated debate over VAR erupts.
Defending champions Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals after a 3-2 victory over Egypt, but the match was overshadowed by a series of controversial VAR decisions that disallowed a goal and a penalty for the African team.
The Round of 16 match at the 2026 World Cup between Argentina and Egypt was not only a thrilling back-and-forth affair but also the focus of heated debates about VAR technology. Despite winning 3-2, defending champions Argentina endured nail-biting moments against the resilient African side, on a day when decisions from the video assistant referee's office completely altered the course of the game.
The goal was disallowed, and the turning point came in the 58th minute.
In the 58th minute, with Egypt leading 1-0 and maintaining a highly effective counter-attacking strategy, Haissem Hassan dribbled past the Argentinian midfield before passing to Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian captain then delivered a precise through ball for Mostafa Ziko to calmly finish past Emiliano Martinez. The entire stadium erupted as the score seemed poised to be 2-0 in favor of Egypt.
However, the joy of the red-shirted team was short-lived. Referee Francois Letexier, after consulting VAR, went directly to the monitor outside the pitch. Slow-motion replays showed that midfielder Marwan Attia had pulled Lisandro Martinez and stepped on his foot at the beginning of the counter-attack, more than 80 meters from the Argentina goal. The goal was disallowed, much to the astonishment of the Egyptian coaching staff.
Inconsistency in penalty decisions
The controversy continued to escalate in the final minutes of the match. In the second minute of added time, during a quick counter-attack by Argentina, Lautaro Martinez delivered a cross for Enzo Fernandez to score the crucial goal. However, Egypt argued that Mohamed Salah had been clearly fouled by Julian Alvarez inside Argentina's penalty area, but VAR remained completely silent.
The outrage reached its peak in the 90+4th minute. Egyptian players surrounded the referee, claiming that Mac Allister had pulled Fathy down inside the Argentinian penalty area. Immediately after this incident, Argentina launched a counter-attack and scored the winning goal to make it 3-2. Instead of reviewing the collision, referee Letexier issued a yellow card to goalkeeper Shobeir and a red card to a member of the Egyptian coaching staff for protesting.
VAR and the boundaries of intervention
Analyzing the match on Fox Sports, former goalkeeper Robert Green expressed his dissatisfaction with how video technology was handled. He argued that VAR's decision to reverse a minor foul nearly 100 yards from the goal to disallow a beautiful goal was excessive intervention that detracted from the natural appeal of football.
The inconsistency in the use of VAR – sometimes scrutinizing Egypt's fouls extremely strictly, while at other times ignoring sensitive collisions in Argentina's penalty area – is becoming a hot topic at the 2026 World Cup. Egypt's 2-3 defeat meant a disappointing exit, while Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals with many questions raised about their form and even the luck of the referee's decisions.
