Argentina erase two-goal deficit in 11 minutes to beat Egypt 3-2, advance to World Cup quarterfinals amid VAR fury

The comeback

Argentina were 2-0 down with just over 10 minutes remaining before scoring three times to snatch a quarterfinal place. Mostafa Ziko had given Egypt a two-goal cushion, set up by Haissem Hassan, but the holders collapsed after Hassan left the pitch. Enzo Fernández struck the winner in added time, leaving Messi in tears at full-time.

The goal that never was

Before Egypt's second, Hassan produced a solo run down the right, found Mohamed Salah, whose through ball met Ziko for a first-time finish. VAR intervened, disallowing the goal for a foul on Lisandro Martínez at the other end before Hassan's run began.

The simple fact is it was right to disallow it. There is no time limit or ceiling on the number of passes to be taken into account.

If we look at the incident, there was some contact, both foot-on-foot and a fleeting hold of the shirt, but there was no offence worthy of a VAR call-back committed here.

Messi's emotions

Messi had earlier spurned a penalty before his redemption act. The New York Times noted the rare show of emotion from a player often accused of being too calm, asking what it revealed about Argentina's prospects.

Quarterfinal lineup

Switzerland beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw to set up a meeting with Argentina. The other quarterfinals are France vs Morocco, Spain vs Belgium, and England vs Norway. All four pre-tournament seeds avoided each other, while Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands were eliminated earlier.