FIFA faces World Cup ‘fix’ accusations after Egypt’s controversial defeat to Argentina

The FIFA World Cup 2026 has been under fire after Egypt lost to Argentina in Tuesday's match.

The controversy stemmed from Argentina’s miraculous comeback as the team defeated Egypt 3-2 in the Round of 16.

In a dramatic turn of events, the nail-biting match was defined by intense controversy surrounding the winning goal. The Pharaohs felt aggrieved when a goal that would have extended their lead in the match was controversially disallowed. Moreover, Zika was denied this goal.

The tension also intensified when Mohamed Salah’s appeal for a penalty was dismissed. Following the dismissal of the penalty, Argentina launched a rapid counter-attack that resulted in Enzo Fernández heading home the winning goal during stoppage time.

This questionable victory of Argentina over Egypt drew ire from the players as Mostafa Zika accused FIFA of “fixing” the match.

Ziko claimed in a post-match interview, “The referee was really not fair. The injustice was clear.”

“We did a really good job in the early stages of the match. There’s been an unfairness, right from the start from the match. A 2-0 lead isn’t enough to beat Argentina.”

“It is clear that this tournament has been fixed. But God is sufficient for us.”

Manager Hossan slammed authorities over their “unfair decisions,” citing, “there is no justice in this competition.”

“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out and a second (incident) that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.”

“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.”

However, FIFA has not made any comments over these allegations.