Never-before-seen video shows Lionel Messi meeting Egypt’s coach as World Cup game gets tense.
New footage has surfaced showing a tense moment between Lionel Messi and the Egyptian coaching staff during their heated 2026 World Cup match. In what many called the best game of the tournament so far, defending champions Argentina secured a spot in the quarter-finals after an intense battle with Egypt.
Egypt started strong as underdogs, with defender Yasser Ibrahim scoring just 15 minutes in. Six minutes later, Argentina’s hopes took a hit when Messi’s penalty was saved by Egypt’s goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, leaving Argentina behind at halftime. Egypt even scored again early in the second half, but that goal was overturned by VAR. Still, forward Mostafa Ziko put Egypt ahead again in the 67th minute.
But Argentina wasn’t done. They made a stunning comeback with goals from Cristian Romero, Messi, and a last-minute winner by Enzo Fernandez, sealing their place in the next round.
Still, the most talked-about moment came late in the game when tensions flared on Egypt’s bench in Atlanta. Manager Hossam Hassan was seen making a controversial ‘X’ gesture. A new angle of the incident shows a member of Egypt’s coaching team trying to confront Messi, but teammates Lisandro Martinez and Leandro Paredes quickly stepped in to calm things down.
Despite this, Egypt’s goalkeeping coach, Saafan El-Sagheer, followed Messi onto the field, clearly shouting and trying to get his attention. Other staff and players had to hold him back, but the referee, Francois Letexier, still showed El-Sagheer a red card for his behavior.
Hassan, too, was warned for his actions and the ‘X’ gesture he made toward the officials. While this sign is often used to report racism, it’s unclear what Hassan intended. Some think it was similar to a gesture made by former Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho in 2010, which was seen as an offensive expression and led to a ban.
After Hassan’s gesture, one of Egypt’s substitutes stepped in to calm things down, and Hassan’s brother and coach, Ibrahim, helped lower his hands.
In a post-match interview, Hassan was very emotional, asking, “Why is there no fairness in sports? In football?” He said Egypt was treated unfairly and claimed they had protested the appointment of referee Letexier. In fact, he announced that he won’t watch any more World Cup matches in protest, saying, “This is my way of speaking up and standing up.”