2026 World Cup: Argentina deserved to beat Egypt, now a tricky Switzerland test awaits

Ahead of Argentina's 2026 World Cup quarter-final against Switzerland, Sports Mole's Site Coordinator Ben Knapton discusses the South American nation, who bushed Egypt 3-2 successful the last-16 signifier of the tourney successful melodramatic fashion.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: "Egypt bottled a two-goal lead"

What an implicit crazy, chaotic spectacle. For 70 minutes it was conscionable lackadaisical from a squad position for Argentina. 

Egypt were pressing the beingness retired of them for a batch of that aboriginal play and looked similar they wanted it more. It took the 2nd extremity to truly footwear Argentina into life. 

For Egypt's disallowed goal, for the foul connected Martinez, that was the close determination for me: a wide foul. I know it's possibly not the astir fashionable presumption among the neutrals, but I'm not a trained referee. 

I work Graham Scott's file connected it earlier and helium disagreed with the decision. He thought it was the attacking signifier of play, but it's each subjective arsenic to however acold backmost you tin go. 

For me, the main contented stems not from the VAR telephone but from the referee not blowing astatine the existent clip of the incident. Referees aren't blowing for things connected the tract arsenic overmuch due to the fact that they deliberation the VAR country volition travel to the close decision. 

There's a fearfulness of making those decisions connected the pitch, reasoning it's going to beryllium reviewed 100 times successful dilatory motion. But we've seen truthful galore times crossed the Premier League and World Cup that that is not the case. 

I was listening to Ally McCoist connected commentary and helium was conscionable going connected astir the garment pull, wholly missing the information that Martinez's ft was trodden on. 

There was a akin incidental betwixt Chelsea and Fulham past season: a Rodrigo Muniz extremity ruled retired for a flimsy tread connected the toed of Trevoh Chalobah. 

He stepped connected his foot, that's going to beryllium painful, and for maine that is simply a foul. So that was the close decision, and it's wholly subjective arsenic to wherever the attacking signifier of play starts. 

There's going to beryllium nary definitive reply the mode determination is with offsides. There was that incidental towards the extremity with Julian Alvarez connected Mo Salah, that tackle wrong the punishment area. 

Looking astatine it successful dilatory motion, I don't deliberation it was a penalty: it looks similar some of their feet came unneurotic astatine the aforesaid time. There was communal interaction there. 

I dislike however galore of those brushed penalties are fixed these days conscionable due to the fact that determination is interaction successful the area. 

Egypt bottled a two-goal pb and volition beryllium furious and frustrated, but their frustrations are calved retired of throwing distant that lead. 

Also, erstwhile Zico scored his disallowed goal, helium took his garment disconnected and should've been yellowish carded: adjacent if the extremity was disallowed, helium should've been booked for that. 

So Egypt besides got distant with something, and Argentina were not conscionable the implicit victims successful that game. I had nary qualm astatine each with the refereeing.