A disallowed goal by VAR, a string of yellow cards for Egypt and contrasting emotions by both captains capped the match. Published On 7 Jul 20267 Jul 2026Argentina’s dreams of retaining their World Cup trophy remain alive but have been tainted by controversial refereeing decisions as the holders pulled off a comeback win despite Egypt’s valiant fight in a highly charged atmosphere at Atlanta Stadium.The reigning world champions trailed the Pharaohs before completing a 3-2 comeback win in their last-16 match on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listWith less than a third of the normal time remaining on the clock, Egypt were on the brink of dumping out the world champions as they led 2-0 despite having a goal disallowed.Cristian Romero’s headed goal cut the deficit in half in the 79th minute and, four minutes later, Lionel Messi scored his eighth goal of the tournament to make it 2-2 and keep alive Argentina’s title defence.Enzo Fernandez sealed the deal for the South Americans in the third minute of stoppage time when he got on the end of a cross from Lautaro Martinez and headed brilliantly into the bottom corner to complete a stunning turnaround of three goals in 13 minutes.What was the VAR controversy in the Argentina vs Egypt World Cup match?Egypt will forever be remembered for giving Argentina a run for their money, but with a sense of injustice after a video assistant referee (VAR) decision ruled out a Mostafa Ziko goal when Egypt were winning 1-0, although he later found the back of the net again to make it 2-0.Ziko was at the end of a brilliant run by Egypt as Salah laid up the ball for him in front of goal and the number 11 slotted it in from close range. He then launched a wild celebration, taking off his shirt on a run, but Egypt’s joy turned into sorrow minutes later as VAR spotted a foul in the build-up to the goal, deeming it void. Advertisement Match commentators had stated at the time that the decision was beyond VAR’ …
