Triumph to disaster: Egypt’s pride remains as they bow out of World Cup

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Football is a passion in Egypt, and millions of fans had watched the match in cafes, squares, and homes. The dream of reaching the quarterfinals in North America seemed within touching distance after an impressive and dogged performance against the world champions. But, having been behind by two goals until the 79th minute, Argentina staged a stunning comeback: Inspired by Lionel Messi and with the clock ticking towards full-time, they scored three goals to book their place in the last eight, shattering Egyptians’ hearts. The dramatic end to the match turned Egyptians’ joy into sadness, and then anger at the perceived injustice of a string of referee decisions in Argentina’s favour. But there was also pride in the national team’s performance. Led by Mohamed Salah, the team played as well as any Egyptian has seen them do in years. At a popular cafe in Badrshein, part of greater Cairo, Umm Wafaa sat at a side table she had asked the cafe owner to prepare so she and her young daughters could watch the match. Initially, she said her daughters had forced her to come, but she was soon letting out a zaghrouta (ululation) after goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved a penalty taken by Messi in the first half to keep it 0-0. “Honestly, I used the girls as an excuse so I could watch the match… and the girls encouraged me,” Umm Wafaa said. “People haven’t been talking about anything but the match for two days. Also, what [Egyptian national team manager] Hossam Hassan did – raising the Palestinian flag and speaking about the people of Gaza – encouraged me even more to go out and watch the match.” Egypt were in dreamland when Yasser Ibrahim scored in the first half and Mostafa Zico in the second, with even a harshly disallowed goal sandwiched in between doing little to dampen spirits. Ihab Omar, a tuk-tuk driver sitting on the other side of the cafe from Umm Wafaa, had been growing increasingly excited. “If we had dreamed of the scenario that happened in the first half, we never could have imagined what took place,” he told Al Jazeera. As the minutes passed, Ihab became increasingly optimistic. He started asking people sitting next to him who Egypt would play in the quarterfinals. But football can be a cruel game. Argentina’s Cristian Romero scored first in the 79th minute, and Ihab began to look worried. But he had not lost hope – yet. Muttering, he said: “God willing, we’ll score the third, and finish them off.” But then it was the turn of the maestro Messi, who scored Argentina’s equaliser only four minutes after setting up Romero for their first goal. Barely 10 minutes later it was Enzo Fernandez rising to get onto a cross, and scoring Argentina’s third – and the ultimate winner. Ihab flew into a rage and overturned the table in front of him, along with the drinks on it. “A cruel and unjust referee! From the beginning, that ball was a penalty for Salah,” he said, referencing what many Egyptians said was a foul on the Egyptian captain in the build-up to the Argentinian goal. Unlike the earlier Egyptian disallowed goal, the potential foul was not reviewed, and the Argentinian goal stood. Umm Wafaa was similarly heartbroken, even if she was not as angry. Victory, she said, “was within reach”. But she did not blame the Egyptian players. It was “the unjust referee”, who she believed had been biased towards Argentina, at fault. After the match, Ihab tried hard to hold back the tears glistening in his eyes. “Despite the dream that was shattered after we had come so close to it, we were the ones who deserved to win, and we played the match of a lifetime against Messi,” he said. “But it’s clear FIFA doesn’t want him to go out.” “By God, we are happy with the national team, and thank God we … competed honourably. If not for the injustice, we would have been in the quarterfinals,” he said. As well as pride in the players, the performance of the Egyptian team in the World Cup, and especially in the game against Argentina, has drawn praise for the coach, Hassan. A star striker for Egypt in the 1990s, and still the country’s all-time top scorer, he had previously been criticised by many Egyptians since taking charge of the national team in 2024. One of those critics was Mohamed Antar, but, as he explained from a cafe in Cairo’s Sheikh Zayed City, his opinion had changed. “From the beginning, I was not one of Hossam Hassan’s devotees or fans, but he completely changed my position on him”, Mohamed said, “whether in terms of the team he assembled and built, or even the spirit that returned to the national team, which we have not seen since the days of [legendary retired Egyptian player Mohamed] Aboutrika’s generation with the national team, as well as the positions that reflect each one of us as Egyptians toward Gaza, and the way he comforted its people through his support for them”. “Today, we are happy with the national team’s performance and play, saddened by the victory that was lost because of the refereeing, and proud of the achievement that was made, and the world’s recognition that we were more deserving of the win,” Mohamed said. 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