Egypt's national team coach points to the "culprit" responsible for the loss to Argentina, resulting in elimination from the World Cup round of 16.
Hossam Hassan, Egypt's national team coach, vehemently criticized his team's 2-3 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup round of 16, calling it unfair and claiming the result was fixed to keep Argentina and Lionel Messi from being eliminated.
Hassan said, "We lost unfairly. There was support from all sides for the world champion. This is clearly marketing. They want the defending champion to stay in the tournament. They want Messi to continue."
"They disallowed our goal (the score was taken away), they denied us a penalty. FIFA does not want Messi to be knocked out. That is why Argentina has received backing from the referees since the start of the game."
"I will say what I think regardless of the consequences. It is clear that the result was fixed, and everyone can see it. If they wanted Argentina to win so badly, why invite everyone to compete in the World Cup?"
"The referees were unfair. They destroyed the efforts of the entire nation. This trophy was locked for Argentina."