India, July 8 -- Argentina's extraordinary 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 should have been remembered as another Lionel Messi rescue act. Instead, the match has been swallowed by a storm around referee Francois Letexier, VAR intervention and claims that Egypt were denied a historic victory.

Egypt had pushed the defending champions to the brink in Atlanta, taking a 2-0 lead and standing just 11 minutes away from one of the great World Cup upsets. But Argentina struck three times late through Cristian Romero, Messi and Enzo Fernandez to seal a dramatic quarter-final berth. Messi, who had earlier missed a penalty, scored the equaliser before Fernandez headed in the stoppage-time winner.

The comeback, however,...