Argentina’s 3-2 comeback win over Egypt sparked a debate among pundits over refereeing decisions and the defending champions’ late recovery.
Argentina’s 3-2 win over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16 has drawn strong reaction from former players, broadcasters, and refereeing analysts, with debate focused on VAR consistency and the defending champions’ late comeback.
Egypt led 2-0 in Atlanta before Argentina scored three times in the final 11 minutes to reach the quarter-finals against Switzerland. Egypt also had a goal ruled out by VAR before Argentina’s comeback, while later penalty appeals from the Egyptian side were not reviewed at the same length.
France legend Thierry Henry said the controversy should be judged through consistency rather than conspiracy.
“The real issue is consistency,” Henry said. He added that Egypt had reason to ask why one incident received a detailed VAR review while later penalty appeals were dealt with more quickly.
Henry also praised both teams, saying Argentina showed character to recover and Egypt deserved respect for their organisation and belief.
Roy Keane took a different view, rejecting claims that Egypt’s defeat should be explained mainly through refereeing. The former Manchester United captain said Egypt should “look in the mirror” after losing a two-goal lead.
“Blaming referees and claiming the tournament is a marketing scheme doesn’t change the fact that your side couldn’t see the game out,” Keane said.
As for Gary Neville, he said Argentina had been “riding their luck” during the knockout stage after also surviving a scare against Cape Verde in the previous round.
Neville added that Argentina were not playing well enough to keep progressing in the same way, but that their spirit made them difficult to finish off.
“They don’t give in,” Neville said.
Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright focused on the late move that led to Argentina’s winner. Speaking after the match, Wright questioned why the same VAR threshold was not applied when Mohamed Salah went down before Argentina broke forward to score.
“If you’re going to pull it back for Argentina, you have to pull it back for this one,” Wright said.
However, Zlatan Ibrahimovic sided with those who placed responsibility on Egypt’s failure to protect their lead, saying Egypt should “look at themselves first” after leading 2-0 and failing to win.
“Football doesn’t forgive mistakes, especially at the World Cup,” Ibrahimovic said.
Other commentators also questioned the officiating. Former England striker Alan Shearer wrote that similar incidents should be treated the same way, “Either both are fouls, or neither is a foul.”
Former FIFA referee Fernando Guerrero also questioned the decision to disallow Egypt’s goal. He said the incident should not have been treated as part of the attacking possession phase because Argentina had time and defensive structure before Egypt scored.
The debate is likely going to follow the winners into the quarter-finals, with Argentina set to face Switzerland. Egypt exit after their deepest World Cup run, having reached the knockout stage for the first time and beaten Australia on penalties before losing to the defending champions.