Egypt nearly pulled off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. Then VAR stepped in and flipped the script.
It was the 58th minute of a knockout match against Argentina, and Egypt was already up 1-0. The reigning champions looked rattled. Lionel Messi had just missed a penalty. The crowd in the stadium was buzzing, and Egypt’s bench was ready to erupt again.
Mostafa Ziko, the 29-year-old who picked his nickname after the Brazilian legend, found himself one-on-one with Emiliano Martinez. He beat the keeper to the ball and smashed it into the net. 2-0. The crowd went insane. Egypt was heading to the quarterfinals for the first time ever.
Except it didn’t count.
The Moment That Changed Everything
The referee got called to the monitor. Replays showed Marwan Attia grabbing Lisandro Martinez’s shirt and stepping on his foot during the buildup. It wasn’t a tackle for the ball. It was a pull-back, a clumsy one, and VAR decided it was enough to wipe out the goal.
The celebration died instantly. Players went from hugging each other to throwing their hands up in frustration. Ziko went from hero to what-if in about 90 seconds.
Here’s the thing though. Egypt didn’t fold. They went back out and actually scored again in the 68th minute. Ziko again, this time latching onto a pass from Haissem Hassan after Salah drove through midfield. That one counted. 2-0 for real.
But Argentina is Argentina. Cristian Romero powered in a header in the 79th minute. Then Messi, four minutes later, half-volleyed a knock-back that goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir could only push onto the bar and into the net. 2-2.
The knockout punch came in stoppage time. Lautaro Martinez whipped a cross to the back post, and Enzo Fernandez headed it across goal into the far corner. Egypt’s players went crazy again, but this time it was anger. They thought there was a foul in the buildup at the other end. The ref didn’t see it that way.
Game over. Argentina survives. Egypt goes home.
What This Means for Both Teams
For Egypt, it’s brutal. They were 10 minutes from history. They had Argentina on the ropes. A team nobody expected to make noise in this tournament nearly sent Messi and company packing. The VAR decision will haunt them for years, and honestly, it’s the kind of call that fuels debates forever.
For Argentina, it’s a wake-up call. They needed a miracle to get past Egypt. If they play like that against Colombia or Switzerland in the quarters, they won’t get another one.
As for Ziko, his career just got a lot more complicated. He scored two goals in a World Cup knockout match, and only one of them will show up in the record books. That’s a tough way to make a name for yourself.
Egypt is eliminated. Argentina moves on. The tournament keeps rolling.
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