Fifa have been accused of “fixing” the World Cup as a furious Egypt criticised the “injustice” of their controversial exit to Argentina.
Inspired by Lionel Messi, the defending champions roared back from 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals in a dramatic encounter in Atlanta – but Egypt felt they should have had a penalty for a foul on Mohamed Salah in the build-up to Argentina’s winning goal. Striker Mostafa Zico subsequently claimed the competition had been “fixed”, with manager Hossam Hassan suggesting that Fifa wanted to keep the holders in the competition.
The last eight line-up is now confirmed with Switzerland taking the final spot in the quarter-finals after progressing past Colombia on penalties. On-field matters, though, have been overshadowed in the last two days by the ongoing fallout to the apparent intervention of Donald Trump in the suspending of the ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun – with Fifa president Gianni Infantino facing calls to resign over the matter.
Follow all of the reaction and latest fallout with our World Cup live blog below:
Quarter-final line-up confirmed
Switzerland, meanwhile, completed the quarter-final line-up as they overcame Colombia in a tense penalty shootout.
Argentina’s act of escapology highlights the problem with Enzo Fernandez
Is it better to be lucky than good? Argentina just about came through when it seemed they were heading for the exit, but Richard Jolly is concerned about the defending champions – and one player in particular.
Argentina were doomed – then Lionel Messi did this to change everything
It was some comeback from Argentina, controversial though it may have proved. Miguel Delaney was in Atlanta.
Fifa accused of World Cup ‘fix’ after Egypt’s controversial defeat to Argentina
Here’s the full story on Egypt’s accusations of a World Cup ‘injustice’:
Egypt’s Mostafa Zico says ‘tournament has been fixed’
Egypt winger Mostafa Zico, whose goal was denied by VAR in the 3-2 defeat to Argentina, said this after his side’s defeat:
“The referee was really not fair. Not fair. Referee 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 of 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.”
