With 12 minutes of normal time remaining, Egypt stood on the cusp of their greatest-ever World Cup result. The Pharaohs led Argentina, the reigning world champions, 2-0 in Atlanta Stadium. A quarter-final spot - their first - beckoned for the football-obsessed African country.

The small coffee house in Cairo was turned Tuesday into a tiny stadium. Several hundred people, mostly men and boys as young as seven, gathered around wall-mounted screens ahead of the kickoff whistle.

BBC Sport unpicks a game that will go down in World Cup history for featuring a team who were two goals down so late on, but who went on to win without needing extra time.

For Mohamed Salah and Egypt, what could have been a glorious celebration turned ugly at end. On the cusp of upsetting the defending World Cup champions, the Pharaohs squandered a two-goal lead late in the game and lost to Lionel Messi and Argentina 3-2 in the round of 16 Wednesday.

"The result, the outcome, was influenced by internal factors on the pitch, inside the game, and external factors ahead of the game."

Egypt manager Hossam Hassan has sensationally accused FIFA of 'rigging' the World Cup after his side crashed out of the 2026 tournament in the round of 16 after being beaten 3-2 by Argentina. Egypt were 2-0 up with 78 minutes on the clock but Argentina completed a comeback in injury time to win 3-2 and progress to the quarter-finals where they will play Switzerland.