By Mishael Emmanuel and Trust Ittai

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan says he has no intention of watching the rest of the World Cup after blaming controversial refereeing decisions for his side's dramatic last-16 elimination by Argentina.

The Pharaohs looked set to pull off one of the tournament's biggest upsets after racing into a 2-0 lead with just 11 minutes remaining against the defending champions.

However, a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina mounted a stunning late comeback, scoring three unanswered goals to snatch victory.

Despite the collapse, Hassan insisted Egypt had been the better side.

"I'm going home and won't be watching any more games from the tournament," Hassan told reporters after the match.

"What happened to us wasn't fair. We should have had a penalty, a goal was disallowed, and I don't know why it was disallowed."

Egypt thought they had extended their advantage in the 62nd minute when Mostafa Zico found the net, only for VAR to rule out the goal after detecting a foul in the build-up.

The North Africans also appealed for a late penalty following an apparent tug on Hamdy Fathy.

Their frustration deepened moments later when Argentina broke away to score the dramatic 92nd-minute winner.

"Even if the goals came from mistakes, the biggest mistake is not getting what you're entitled to from those responsible for making the decisions," Hassan said during a press conference dominated by complaints about the officiating.

"I'm the type of person who hates losing. And when it's a defeat that feels unjust like today's, I can only tell the fans not to be upset. We wanted so much to give them more joy."

Despite the painful defeat, the former Egypt international praised his players for executing the game plan.

"What made me happy was that my players followed the game plan on many occasions and worked very well."

Egypt surprised many by adopting an attacking approach from the outset, a notable departure from Hassan's typically cautious, counter-attacking style.

The positive approach paid off with an early lead, while goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir produced a series of outstanding saves to preserve Egypt's advantage heading into the break.

Hassan also highlighted the achievement of competing toe-to-toe with one of the tournament favourites despite relying heavily on home-based players.

"I'm very, very satisfied with the effort they put in. Most of our players come from the Egyptian domestic league, while many players in other national teams are based in Europe and live in that professional environment.

"Yet with predominantly local players, besides Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, we were able to compete with anyone."