Argentina legend Javier Zanetti has named Egypt as the toughest opponents the holders faced on their route to the 2026 World Cup final.
“The Egyptian national team played a wonderful match against Argentina,” Zanetti said while attending the final against Spain.
“They were extremely organised and made the match difficult for us.”
Asked whether Egypt had provided Argentina’s toughest test of the tournament, Zanetti replied: “Yes, I think so. Egypt have great players and proved that.”
Argentina needed a dramatic late comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16 in Atlanta. Hossam Hassan’s side held a two-goal advantage until the 79th minute.
Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring after 15 minutes. He converted the rebound after Emiliano Martínez saved his first attempt.
Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir then saved an early Lionel Messi penalty. The Al Ahly goalkeeper also denied several other chances as Argentina pushed for an equaliser.
Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage through Mostafa Ziko before half-time. However, VAR identified a foul by Marwan Attia during the build-up.
Ziko eventually scored in the 67th minute to put Egypt 2-0 ahead. He finished a quick counterattack after Ibrahim Adel carried the ball into Argentina’s half.
Argentina launched their comeback through Cristian Romero with 11 minutes remaining. Messi equalised four minutes later before Enzo Fernández struck the winner in stoppage time.
The result ended Egypt’s first appearance in the World Cup knockout rounds. It also drew criticism from the Egyptian Football Association, which questioned several refereeing decisions.
Argentina later survived another difficult contest against Switzerland. They then overturned a deficit to beat England 2-1 in the semi-finals, with Fernández and Lautaro Martínez scoring late goals.