VIDEO: Heartbroken Mohamed Salah & Egypt players stand & applaud after receiving hero's welcome from fans at team hotel despite Argentina World Cup loss

With just 11 minutes of normal time remaining in Atlanta, Egypt were on the verge of the most significant result in their footballing history. Leading the reigning world champions 2-0, a first-ever quarter-final appearance seemed certain until a late collapse turned the dream into a nightmare. Cristian Romero sparked the comeback in the 79th minute before Lionel Messi equalised and Enzo Fernandez headed home a dramatic winner in stoppage time.

When French referee Francois Letexier signalled full-time, the transformation from elation to despair was complete. Many of Egypt's players slumped to the floor in disbelief, having seen a two-goal lead vanish in the closing stages. However, upon returning to their team base, the squad was greeted by hundreds of supporters who refused to let the result overshadow the team's effort, leading to a poignant moment where a visibly emotional Salah joined his team-mates in applauding the loyal crowd.

While the fans offered support, Egypt boss Hossam Hassan was in no mood to forgive the officiating. Hassan pointed to several key VAR decisions that went against his side, including a Mostafa Zico goal ruled out for a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the move. Despite the contact appearing minimal, the VAR intervention wiped out what would have been a 2-0 cushion at the time.

"We haven't seen respect or fair play," Hassan said. "A penalty for us was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. We have all seen the shirt pulled back by Alexis Mac Allister and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports?"

As the dust settles on their North American campaign, questions are naturally turning to the future of their talisman. Mohamed Salah departs the tournament with one goal to his name, scored against New Zealand, and he was one of the players to make a difference as Egypt race into a shock 2-0 lead against the Argentines. With the Liverpool star set to be 38 by the time the 2030 World Cup arrives, however, there are doubts over whether he will spearhead the Pharaohs' attack in another global finals.