Argentina Overcomes Two-Goal Deficit to Beat Egypt 3-2 in 2026 World Cup Round of 16

Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16. Egypt held a two-goal lead before the loss and was eliminated from the tournament. The Egyptian Football Association filed a formal protest with FIFA demanding an investigation into alleged refereeing inconsistencies.

It stated on social media that “the Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions observed during the match against Argentina” and argued that “the failure to properly use VAR” influenced several decisions affecting the final score.

Wired reported that VAR was first used in a World Cup in 2018 in Russia and was incorporated into the Laws of the Game as “a support tool for the on-field refereeing team,” according to FIFA. The system has since been implemented in more than 100 competitions, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The platform accesses 42 broadcast cameras, including eight providing super-slow-motion footage and four providing ultra-slow-motion footage, plus feeds from semi-automated offside detection cameras and the FIFA host network. A video assistant referee and three assistants review angles and report potential infractions to the head referee.

In the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, VAR assisted with reviews of goals and infractions leading to goals, penalty kicks and actions leading to them, direct red cards, and mistaken identity cases.

For 2026, FIFA added review eligibility for clearly erroneous second yellow cards, blocking, shoving, offsides, or offensive fouls prior to free kicks or corner kicks, as well as infractions under the Prestianni-Vinícius Rule and to prevent confusion between corner kicks and goal kicks.