The greatest World Cup goal that never was

Historical revisionism is frowned upon by most people - unless they find the existing account unpleasant and uncomfortable, and embrace the revised version because it makes them feel better. I won't go into whether Argentina deserved to win their pre-quarterfinal World Cup match against Egypt last Tuesday. What I shall do, however, is historically revise a historical revision conducted by the oracular nonces of Fifa. In the process, I will tell you in detail (for in detail one attempts to create the 'flesh') of a glorious event that is no longer deemed to have occurred.

The following is also an investigation of time - in terms of duration, its equally-paced forward movement most of us take for granted, ruptures that make some moments longer than others, and turning the clock back by negating chunks and restarting. My investigation itself was a practical experiment involving a TV screen, access to the replay of the complete match, and a remote control with pause, fast-forward, and (especially) rewind buttons.

57th min into Argentina v. Egypt, July 7, 10.52-10.55 pm IST (3 min 10 s)


Lisandro Martinez turns with the ball, nutmegs Mohamed Hany (57:31) and tries to scamper into the Egypt box. But he's tackled by Marwan Attia (57:33). The Argentine centre-back stays down, while Attia takes the ball, and proceeds towards the Argentina box at the other extreme end of the field. There was no foreshadowing, but now you see the smoking gun.

Before an incoming Julian Alvarez can do anything with the ball, Attia has passed it along the same flank to Haissem Hassan, who starts his Mosaic journey and his own parting of the Red Sea. Dodging and cross-stitching, Hassan takes an inside turn, crosses into midfield, 30 m from the Argentina goal mouth. His pharaonic furrowing is truly spectacular, Diegoesque.

By now, you can see Emiliano Martinez in the corner of the screen/field stirring. Hassan passes the ball to Mo Salah (57:45) who, after a few steps, 'simply' taps it (57:47) to a rushing-in from the left Mostafa Ziko. Seemingly with the sheer momentum of his run, Ziko shoots the ball into the Argentina net beyond a stranded Martinez (57:50).

In those 19 seconds, we see this single living, mutating, thing of beauty composed of a handful of running Egyptian players, a ball, on a field occupied by Argentines.

Even as wild Egyptian celebrations are dying down, Ziko's put his shirt back on, and players are returning to their positions, at 58:36, you see referee Francoise Letexier responding to his earpiece, and making gestures. You barely saw it 'live' when it was actually happening. But like forensic evidence, you see it now stick out after you've gone through the 'tapes'.

At 58:50, Letexier looks into the VAR screen and speaks into his mouthpiece with fellow Frenchman and video assistant referee - yes, VAR - Jerome Brisard, who we see in a split screen with his hand on his chin in the Fifa VAR room. By this time the TV commentator, who had earlier scoffed at Martinez rolling on the ground, has picked up that something is out of joint. By 59:24, he's saying that the Egypt goal 'may come to nothing'.

By 59:27, we see the ref striding back towards the pitch. We know he knows. Looking back, we recall that we 'then' don't know what he knows yet - which we know all too well 'now'. At 59:38, Letexier does the dumb charade sign for screen. And there it comes at 59:45 - his words echoing badly from inside the bowels of the stadium, 'After review...' in heavily accented English that I can't (still) make out.

When he points to the spot where Martinez had fallen a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away - which is when-where 2 min 12 s and the opposite end of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium was - we saw time loop back, actions committed in that duration erased, and history being revised. After new evidence having been brought to light.

What a stunning display of football that resulted in a goal which didn't happen.