Egypt’s historic run at the World Cup ended in a bittersweet, controversial, and highly charged 3-2 loss to Argentina that left the Pharaohs shaking their heads in frustration as the holders moved one step closer to defending their trophy.

Argentina staged a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to avoid a shocking exit after talisman Lionel Messi equalised in the 83rd minute and Enzo Fernandez netted two minutes into stoppage time to seal the deal for the defending world champions on Tuesday.

The last 15 minutes of the match saw emotions run high as several alleged fouls from Argentina went unnoticed by the referee – who rescinded Egypt’s goal from Mostafa Ziko after a VAR call – and four yellow cards were handed to Egypt, including one to coach Hossam Hassan.

In a move overlooked in the heat of the on-field action, Hassan crossed his arms in an “X”, a gesture to report racist abuse and activate FIFA’s antiracism protocol. The gesture should have immediately prompted the referee to halt the match and address the incident, but the whistle was only blown to signal the end of the game minutes later.

On social media, users decried the injustice against Egypt while offering moral support to the Pharaohs, who had already made World Cup history with their round-of-32 win against Australia.

The country’s football federation was among the first to congratulate the team on their historic achievement with a tweet, saying: “You were men of great responsibility. Proud of you. Thank you for everything.”

‘Tears fell’ after ‘every Egyptian goal’

The Arab world wrapped Egypt in a blanket of warmth and pride despite the loss.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi thanked them for an “honourable performance” and a historic World Cup run.

“We are proud of you and your achievement, and the future is brighter for you, ” he wrote on X.

One Egypt supporter reminded them to “hold your heads high like Coach Hossam held the flag of Palestine”, referring to Hassan carrying the Palestinian flag onto the pitch as his side celebrated their win over Australia.

“I’m saying to them: I’m dedicating this victory to the Egyptian people and Palestinian people, those kind and honourable people,” Hassan had said after the 3-2 win on penalties.

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom heaped praise on Egypt for their “historic performance”, while criticising the referee for his decisions, a sentiment largely shared across social media.

One Gaza-based fan detailed how much the match meant to people in the besieged Palestinian territory.

“Can you imagine the level of injustice we live here in Palestine? Imagine a football team being eliminated from the World Cup simply because it raised the Palestinian flag and spoke about Gaza,” he wrote on X.

“Everyone here in Gaza was out in the streets watching. For a moment, they forgot the unbearable reality they endure every day. Perhaps a football match was their only hope of making their voices heard by the world.

“I swear our tears fell with joy after every Egyptian goal. But to see things reach the point where FIFA appoints a corrupt referee, crushing the happiness of Palestinians who are living in tents with no hope… even our simplest moment of joy was taken away from us.”

Footage showed Palestinians holding their breath as they watched the match on a screen set up amid the rubble of bombed buildings, Egyptian flags strung above.

Ziko fumes at ‘obvious oppression’

A frustrated Ziko openly slammed the referee’s decisions in a post-match interview.

“The referee was unfair, the ruling is unjust, with clear and obvious oppression,” Ziko said before concluding that the rest lies in the hands of God and congratulating Argentina on the World Cup win, alluding to rigging in the South American team’s favour.

English football legend Jamie Carragher also criticised the VAR decision to rescind the goal.

“I assure you that if the goal was against another team, it would have been allowed.

“If it happened in the Premier League, La Liga or Serie A, it would have been a goal even after VAR review. There have been many contradictions in this tournament,” Carragher said.

Portuguese football icon Jose Mourinho reportedly called the match “daylight robbery”.

“It’s a shame what football is becoming. How do you let the play continue, allow the goal to be scored, and only then decide to go back and cancel it? If there was a foul, stop the game immediately. Don’t wait until after the goal,” he said.

Hassan was as vociferous in the post-match news conference as he was in the dying minutes of the match.

“I’m going home and won’t be watching any more games from the tournament,” he told reporters.

“What happened to us wasn’t fair. We should have had a penalty, a goal was disallowed, and I don’t know why it was disallowed.”

Still, captain Mohamed Salah and co were given a heroes’ welcome by fans cheering outside their hotel as they waved Egyptian flags and coloured the sky red for the Pharaohs’ victory in their own right.