Egypt attacker Mohamed Salah lamented the refereeing during the 3-2 Round of 16 loss to Lionel Messi’s Argentina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Atlanta on Tuesday (July 7).

The Pharaohs broke the deadlock through Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute before Messi missed a penalty following a foul on Nicolas Otamendi as Hossam Hassan’s side led at the break.

Salah and Co. thought they had doubled their advantage 13 minutes into the second period, only for Mostafa Ziko’s strike to be called off by VAR for a foul in the build-up at the other end. Undettered, Ziko struck nine minutes later to put the Pharaohs within touching distance of a place in the quarter-finals.

Lionel Scaloni’s side, though, fought back with goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez in the final 11 minutes to survive an almighty scare. Salah, though, was critical of the refereering during the game without pinpointing any particular instance

“I don’t want to talk about the referee because I’ll get in trouble if I do,” he said (as per ESPN commentator Luiz Carlo Largo).

“It’s sad and frustrating to see all the decisions going against you in a game, especially in a decisive match like this one in the World Cup. It’s just so bad at this point in football.”

While Salah and Co. wonder what might have been in their second World Cup knockout match, the Albiceleste move on to a last-eight clash with Colombia or Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday (July 11).

“Lionel Messi still wants it” – Ibrahimovic hails Argentina captain after 2026 FIFA World Cup heroics against Egypt

Former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic lauded Argentina attacker Lionel Messi’s penchant to keep going despite winning everything on offer after his 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 heroics against Egypt on Tuesday.

Providing a goal and an assist after a penalty miss, Messi took sole lead of the Golden Boot race with eight goals as the Albiceleste moved to within three wins of a successful title defence.

”Messi became an animal, and nobody could catch him,” Ibrahimovic said on Fox Sports (via Barca Blaugranes). “He just went on, went on and this is the one I saw, the one we’re used to seeing and that we are still seeing.”

“You can still see also emotionally how much it means for him. Remember that he’s already won this World Cup. He already won a lot of trophies, the Ballon d’Or, everything. I can sit here and give his CV, and it looks perfect. But he still wants it, and that is impressive. Look at that.”

Lionel Messi and Co. are on a record-equalling 11-match winning streak at the FIFA World Cup after beating Egypt, a mark they will own outright if they win their upcoming quarter-final this weekend.