Egypt national team welcomed as heroes by fans despite defeat

Despite a painful loss to Argentina on the verge of the World Cup quarter-finals, the Egypt national team received an unexpected reception at their base. Despite exiting the tournament, team captain Mohamed Salah and his teammates were greeted with applause by hundreds of fans at the hotel. This is reported by Goal.com reports .

Until the 79th minute of the match at the stadium in Atlanta, the Egyptians were leading 2-0 against the reigning world champions and were very close to reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. However, a sudden turnaround at the end of the game shattered the "Pharaohs'" dreams. Goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez secured a comeback victory for Argentina.

According to Goal.com, the players, who were emotionally devastated after the defeat, were surprised to see a large crowd gathered to support them upon returning to the hotel. Led by Mohamed Salah, the players stopped and applauded the loyal fans for a long time in gratitude for their unwavering support.

Hossam Hassan and the refereeing controversy

After the match, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan expressed sharp criticism regarding the officiating. The coach was dissatisfied with the VAR decisions, claiming that his team's legitimate goal was disallowed. Specifically, the decision to rule out a goal scored by Mostafa Zico due to an alleged foul significantly impacted the outcome of the game.

"We did not see justice on the pitch. A penalty that should have been awarded in our favor was not even checked by VAR, and our second goal was disallowed for an inexplicable reason. It was clear that Alexis Mac Allister pulled our player's shirt, but the referees ignored it. Life itself is unfair, but why is there no justice in sports?" Hassan stated.

This defeat is a major loss for Egyptian football, as the team was one step away from achieving their best result in history. Throughout the tournament, Mohamed Salah managed to score one goal against New Zealand and was a key figure in his team's attacking play during the match against Argentina.

Now, many are wondering about the future of the 32-year-old star. Considering that Mohamed Salah will be 38 by the 2030 World Cup, speculation is growing that this could be his last major tournament. For now, the Liverpool forward has not made an official statement regarding his future with the national team.