2026 World Cup: Egypt made real Mondial history, and we have every right to celebrate it

"He had once fallen under the spell of a dream, and from that moment on, the memory of that beautiful transgression would pursue him forever—a moment of freedom, of a lightness too exquisite to endure. It would remain, forever haunting him, like conscience itself."
— Arwa Saleh, The Stillborn

I doubt that when leftist activist and writer Arwa Saleh wrote these lines, she imagined she was describing how millions of Egyptians would feel for three unforgettable weeks — or perhaps for the past four decades, if not throughout much of modern Egyptian history.

Little Egyptian boy wearing Salah's jersey
watching a game between older kids on the banks
of the Nile in Upper Egypt's Al-Minya
"Ahmed Mostafa" 

Egypt's 2026 World Cup campaign was that beautiful dream, and Egyptians could not help but fall under its spell.

Egypt was eliminated in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after an epic, deeply controversial match against Argentina. The rest is history.

Eleven days later, I can finally finish this post, which I began writing on 8 July 2026.

Since then, Argentina has defeated Switzerland in another match that raised eyebrows and renewed questions about refereeing decisions, advancing to the semi-finals. It then overcame England in the showdown many football fans had been waiting years to see.

No one could have imagined that so many Egyptians would find themselves supporting England against Argentina.

Yet the impossible happened. 

England, too, experienced the same bitter final minutes, marked by controversial refereeing decisions and an unusually physical game. 

I cannot imagine how Egyptian and English fans who witnessed both matches felt as they watched history seemingly repeat itself.

It was painful to watch because — bias aside — Egypt played better against Argentina than either team did. That only deepened the inevitable question: What if?

In a few hours, Argentina will face Spain in the World Cup final and will most likely lift the trophy.

It has been a week filled with reactions, endless "what ifs," and the familiar chorus of "Stop being dramatic, you filthy Egyptian sore losers."

But we are not sore losers.

We would have accepted the defeat — and many of us would even have celebrated Argentina's victory — had the match been fair.

In fact, before kickoff, most Egyptians, myself included, genuinely believed the national team would be heading home after facing the 2022 World Cup champions.

The joke that went viral before the match was: "Who will the Egyptian team meet after Argentina?" The answer was always either President El-Sisi or TV host Mona El-Shazly.

As it turned out, the players met both.

The reception they received was so painfully awkward that it snapped many Egyptians out of their dreamlike state of mourning and self-pity, replacing it with the one thing we never seem to lose: our sarcasm.

As soon as the team landed at Alamein International Airport instead of Cairo International Airport — where thousands, if not millions, would have welcomed them — they were swept into what felt like a carefully choreographed media spectacle tied to the "Yalla Sahel" tourism campaign, backed by several North Coast real estate developers.

The team's reception in Alamein, Egypt, by EPA images

That should have happened differently. 

They should have been welcomed by millions of Egyptians in Cairo and Giza, with a victory parade stretching from Cairo International Airport to the Pyramids for a celebratory photo shoot before continuing to Heliopolis to meet the president—just as the national team was received after its Africa Cup of Nations triumphs during the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Just like that, we were pulled back into bitter reality.

I do not want to disrespect or belittle the people who welcomed the boys on the North Coast. I know a family who was vacationing there, and their children insisted on going to receive the team. They were so excited that they literally stayed awake all night waiting for the moment. For them, it was the highlight of the entire year—not just the summer.

And how could I ignore that genuine, beautiful moment involving the hardworking seasonal delivery rider on a motorcycle?

In the middle of one of the hottest days in the Alamein desert, while delivering food, he accidentally came across the parade. He immediately sped up to catch the team bus and shouted from the bottom of his lungs: "You honored us all."

The national team captured this young man's reaction among all the celebrations precisely because it was such a spontaneous and genuine moment. They later requested to meet him themselves.

Meanwhile, some across the Arab world mocked Egyptians for celebrating a team that had "only" reached the Round of 16, calling us the laughingstock of the football world.

First, I'm happy if, in these bleak times of wars — especially in the Middle East — we can at least make people laugh.

Second, we have every reason to celebrate because history was made, and no one expected it.

We are not sore losers. Our boys produced one of the finest performances in the history of Egyptian football and, against all odds, came within touching distance of defeating the reigning world champions and uniting Egyptians 

For a brief moment, we were no longer a nation divided by politics, religion, ideology, or class. 

Even Egyptian Coptic Christian extremists and Muslim Brotherhood supporters living in the United States found themselves cheering for the same national team and singing Habibti Ya Masr at the top of their lungs. Suddenly, it felt like "US". 

I'm not exaggerating. This World Cup journey united Egypt and Egyptian society in a way I have not witnessed in years, and it felt completely genuine.

It came at a particularly difficult time.

Ironically, Argentinians are living through many of the same economic hardships—and even some similar political challenges. Yet they have one advantage: they are half a world away from the Middle East, while we live at the heart of the Old World, in one of its most turbulent and explosive regions.

Our team also united the Arab world in a way I have never seen before—not even during the greatest runs of other Arab national teams.

For my generation — and, I believe, for generations to come — that Argentina match will simply be remembered as the Match. So will the 2026 World Cup.

Nor am I alone in saying this. Many friends — including some of Egypt's finest football journalists, several of whom covered the tournament in the United States — have described the match against Argentina as one of the greatest performances in the history of the Egyptian national team.

We would not feel this angry had the referee simply made mistakes.

We know Hossam Hassan made tactical errors. No one denies that. But the referee's decisions went far beyond ordinary mistakes; they were, in our view, scandalous. At the very least, the match should have ended 3-3. Had we then lost on penalties, we would have accepted it.

Even in defeat, the Egyptian national team made history.

It was the first time Egypt had reached the Round of 16 at a FIFA World Cup, only to be eliminated by the defending world champions.

Before the 2026 tournament, Egypt had never won a single match in its previous three World Cup appearances — in 1934, 1990, and 2018. That long-standing curse was finally broken with a 3-1 victory over New Zealand in the group stage.

After navigating the group stage, Egypt advanced past the Round of 32 by defeating Australia in a tense penalty shootout. Egypt advanced further when Germany and Brazil were eliminated in the same round. Read that again, slowly. 

Who could have imagined seeing this day? We love the Underdogs in the World Cup for real. This time we were the true Underdogs.

Egypt delivered a masterclass against Argentina despite its tactical mistakes and a refereeing performance that, in my view, ranged from a wrongly disallowed Egyptian goal and ignored penalty appeals to reckless physical challenges on Mohamed Salah and other players that went unpunished.

Even though Egypt was ultimately eliminated in the Round of 16, they bowed out with their heads held incredibly high. They went toe-to-toe with defending champions Argentina in a five-goal thriller.

Egypt shocked the world by taking a 2-0 lead through Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko, two boys from the domestic league.

Before the World Cup friendly against Brazil, most Egyptians didn't know Ziko — the boy from the Nile Delta who, starting in 2017, worked and slept in his late father's shop to support his family.

Zico made a true history and took iconic photos in the World Cup

In 2019, as a second-division player, he said it had felt impossible, at least back then, to imagine being friends with both Mohamed Aboutrika and Mohamed Salah. By 2026, the whole world knew Ziko — including the original Zico, admiringly.

Then came that shy, French-speaking Haithem Hassan — half-Egyptian of Nubian origin, half-Tunisian — who chose to play for Egypt and showed us a masterclass.

Mostafa Shoubair, aka Oufa Shoubair, made a stunning dive to deny Lionel Messi from the penalty spot — something even his father, in his prime, never managed. Another piece of history made.

Salah may not have scored many goals, but he led the team superbly throughout the tournament—not only with his performances on the pitch, but also with his leadership as captain.

His smiling reaction to the referee's habit of awarding a foul every time an Argentine player went to ground quickly became a meme—and, in its own way, part of the World Cup's folklore and history.

The Egyptian national team terrorized the reigning — and probably this tournament's — champions for 80 minutes, before a heartbreaking stoppage-time collapse let Argentina escape with a 3-2 win. 

We made Messi cry, literally, in disbelief that he'd won for real for the first time in this edition of the World Cup.

For the first time, I saw Messi—one of football's undisputed GOATs—break down in tears after a Round of 16 victory. That alone says something about what Egypt put Argentina through. FYI, I am a Barca fan girl and former Messi and Argentina fan.

Even at the peak moment of anger, Hossam Hassan made history again by making the X sign against racism for the first time — a gesture every referee ignored when the game should have been halted.

Hossam Hassan also made another history when he spat toward fans who held up an Israeli flag in front of him as he was leaving the pitch, an act many viewed as an attempt to provoke him.

If you think this crossed a line, then perhaps you do not know Hassan or his legendary temperament.

For someone known for his fiery reactions, this was arguably the extreme limit of his restraint.

Those fans had already taken issue with Hassan carrying both the Palestinian and Egyptian flags after the Egypt-Australia match, as well as with his remarks highlighting the suffering of the people of Gaza and reminding the world of their plight.

He was the only coach at the tournament to publicly speak about the Palestinians and their suffering.

I especially loved how Egyptian photographer Samah Zidan—the only Egyptian woman photographing the 2026 World Cup—gently patted Hassan on the arm to calm him down.

But Zidan was not only comforting Hassan; in that moment, she was comforting many Egyptians who were grieving, angry, and struggling with the heartbreak of the match.

A Saudi online friend described that moment perfectly: Sameh embodied Egypt’s warmth even in a moment of anger. That simple gesture captured and summarized so many feelings.

It was one of those unmistakably Egyptian moments—or, perhaps more accurately, a moment of pure Egyptiana.

Mohamed Hany also made history in the game when he raised his middle finger toward the same group of fans who were attempting to taunt him with an Israeli flag after a physically demanding and exhausting match.

It was the first time an Egyptian footballer had done so on the World Cup stage.

Hany had already made his mark as a remarkable defender. Unfortunately, he scored two own goals during Egypt's World Cup campaign, but his defensive performances—stopping countless dangerous attacks and preventing many goals—earned him the forgiveness and admiration of Egyptian fans. Many even overlooked his emotional reaction in that heated moment.

For many Egyptians, Hossam Hassan, Hany, and Zico represented something more than football. By openly expressing their frustration with the referee's decisions and criticizing FIFA, they gave voice to the anger many fans felt. They did not remain silent; they chose to speak up and stand their ground. 

When Hossam Hassan and the other players spoke about the match, criticizing the referee, little did they know they were opening the gates of hell: direct accusations against both FIFA and the Argentina Football Association. 

Suddenly, Argentina became the ultimate villain of this edition, after entering as the world's most storied underdog story.

Now people are rewatching footage of the match and speaking more widely about it. The world saw it, and for me, that's what matters: regular people everywhere saying the match was stolen from Egypt and that FIFA is corrupt as hell.

Gianni Infantino is facing a coup d'état from Europe — we're reading reports that European federations and clubs want someone else to lead FIFA, even as he keeps promising to expand the field for the next World Cup.

Thanks to Hassan, when he spoke about the 2026 World Cup's elephant in the room—the gambling and betting industry—many people began discussing it openly.

Betting has always been part of football, including previous World Cups. But this edition felt different. With the rise of crypto-based prediction markets and the entry of powerful financial and political figures into the sector, the betting industry reached another—and, for many, troubling—level. Donald Trump Jr.'s roles as a strategic adviser to both Polymarket and Kalshi, as well as his venture capital firm's investment in Polymarket, only intensified the debate around these platforms.

Kalshi's presence as a World Cup sponsor added another layer to the discussion. Suddenly, questions about betting, prediction markets, and sports became impossible to ignore.

I remember seeing those staggering numbers placed on bets predicting an Argentina victory over Egypt and thinking that the potential returns alone looked large enough to solve the financial problems of both countries !!

Back in Cairo, many are wondering whether this was another episode of the "spell of a dream" curse.

Throughout modern Egyptian history, many believe that the nation has repeatedly come close to achieving something extraordinary, only to see that dream slip away at the final moment, ending in disappointment.

A dear friend of mine described the match, for my generation, as the elephant in the room — that match, or at least its first 80 minutes, is like a miniature version of the January Revolution in its ups and downs. It's not too far-fetched a comparison.

I love that our participation in the 2026 World Cup was truly Egyptian, wild and loud.

Hell, if Infantino gets kicked out of FIFA in the upcoming elections — I doubt it — remember that Egypt-Argentina match. It all started there.

That's why I still celebrate it: Egypt made history at Mondial 2026, and it will be remembered for a long time, isa