Marwan Attia revealed the behind-the-scenes details of Egypt's disallowed goal against Argentina.
Marwan Attia
Club: Al Ahly
Marwan Attia participated in the Egyptian national team's reaching the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Attia said via MBC Egypt 2 channel: "I played against Messi once against Inter Miami and delivered a good match, and that's why I was confident in my ability to play the match against Argentina well too, I don't look at any player individually but look at the whole team and Hossam Hassan makes you not afraid of anyone."
He continued, "We wanted to preserve the result more against Argentina and play on the counterattack, but it is possible to concede a goal, and we tried to give our best."
He added, "The ball does not stop with the Argentine players, and there is no player who keeps the ball for more than 3 meters except Messi."
He continued, "After scoring the third goal, we entered a state of shock, and we did not want to leave the field after the defeat."
He stressed, "In the ball of the disallowed goal, Lisandro Martínez was trying to pass Mohamed Hany and I was running naturally towards the ball and the tip of my foot touched Lisandro's toe and I did not step on his foot, and the ball was far from him and not in his possession, and by the same logic Salah was supposed to get a penalty because it is almost the same foul and the referee signaled to continue play, unlike Hamdi Fathy's ball in which the shirt was torn."
He added, "Things were clear on the field with strange decisions from the referee by counting the slightest touch for them as fouls and not counting anything for us, and whoever says that the referee's mistakes did not score two goals against us, well, but the third goal was supposed to be disallowed and a penalty awarded to us and the situation would have been different."
He added, "Australia was like New Zealand but at a better level, and we saw it as the most important match in the World Cup because if you lose it would be as if you had not achieved anything."
He continued, "Our goal before the tournament was to honor our country and our families and to present something that had never happened before."
He concluded, "Receiving President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his honoring us is an honor beyond honor, and this honor is not given to just anyone, and it means that you have become influential towards your country."
Egypt reached the round of 16 in the World Cup for the first time in history before exiting the tournament after losing to Argentina by three goals to two.
