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Controversy over the 2026 World Cup clash between Egypt and Argentina spilled over into the corridors of the United Nations, after the match became the focus of an indirect debate between UN General Assembly President Analena Berbock and Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rostom at high-level meetings of the United Nations Development Programme.
Baerbock began his speech by addressing the atmosphere at the World Cup, stressing that the tournament taught lessons beyond sport, before implicitly pointing to Argentina’s comeback as a result.
“Never give up in the eightieth minute. How many matches looked lost and then the result changed in the ninetieth minute or a minute later?”, considering that one goal at the right time can change the course of a game, just as total goals can change the world.
But Egyptian Minister Ahmed Rostom was quick to take the signal and responded to it at the start of his speech with a message with a different connotation. “As the President of the General Assembly mentioned, the lessons learned from the World Cup show that every minute counts. Let’s keep the momentum going until the seventy-ninth minute and beyond, sticking to the rules of the game and the principles of fair competition.”
The minister’s reference to “the rules of the game” and “fair competition” came in a context reminiscent of the major refereeing controversy that accompanied Egypt’s Round of 16 clash between Egypt and Argentina, which saw widespread objections to a number of influential decisions, giving his remarks a dimension that goes beyond football talk and emphasizes the importance of competitive fairness.
Rustom concluded his speech by emphasizing that achieving the goals of sustainable development requires real international cooperation, which ensures equal opportunities among all countries, and that no nation or country is left out of the development process.
The match was called off at the United Nations due to exceptional events, with Egypt leading by two unanswered goals until the 79th minute after a first-half goal by Yasser Ibrahim, and Mustafa Zico adding to the tally in the 67th minute, despite Lionel Messi missing a penalty and goalkeeper Mustafa Schubert.
But Argentina turned the tables, scoring three goals in a row through Christian Romero in the 79th minute and Messi in the 83rd before Enzo Fernandez grabbed the winner in stoppage time.
The match saw a wide-ranging refereeing controversy after an Egyptian goal was disallowed due to a mistake early in the attack and the refusal to award Mohamed Salah a penalty in the final minutes, prompting the Egyptian federation to question the fairness of the refereeing decisions and sparking an international debate that has spread beyond the football field.
