Minutes before Egypt's final match in the 2026 World Cup ended, and as Argentina celebrated its third goal, two citizens died in the governorates of Alexandria and Sharqia due to heart attacks they suffered after confirming the 'Pharaohs' loss and their exit from the tournament.

In Alexandria, Ibrahim Mohamed was watching the match at a café when those around him were surprised by his sudden fall to the ground, discovering that his heart had stopped out of grief over Egypt's loss.

According to a source in the Health Directorate of Alexandria, the ambulance authority received a report that a fan at a café in the Sfar Pasha area had fainted while watching the match. An ambulance immediately moved to attempt resuscitation but to no avail, and he was taken to the hospital where he passed away.

During the same minutes, another citizen, named Salah Abdel Hamid al-Haddad, fell in the village of al-Sufiya in Sharqia governorate, after suffering a sudden heart attack following Egypt's loss to Argentina 3-2, as his agitation reached its peak, accusing the French referee of bias.

Widespread agitation

With the final whistle, amid a state of grief in all Egyptian streets, a number of hospitals, clinics, and medical centers in Egypt began receiving cases of high blood pressure due to the match result, as well as others whose blood sugar levels had risen.

Dr. Ahmed Abdel Khaleq, an emergency physician at Safwa Medical Center in Cairo, said that the center received more than 100 people within less than two hours who requested blood pressure and pulse measurements. Most of them had high readings, and some received treatment with fast-acting antihypertensives.

He noted, in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, that others had elevated blood sugar measurements due to severe agitation as well, while doctors managed to handle two cases showing signs of angina pectoris, caused by the intense grief over the match outcome.

According to Abdel Khaleq, some private medical centers in Cairo and other governorates designated areas to receive those who wanted to check their blood pressure after the match, due to the increasing numbers.

He confirmed that, after communicating with fellow doctors in other areas and cities, it became clear that there was widespread public agitation, leading many to high blood pressure, noting that most of the affected individuals received necessary treatment and left immediately.

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In turn, a doctor at Benha University Hospital in Benha city, Qalyubia governorate, revealed that the hospital's emergency department received a large number of patients with high blood pressure, and these cases were treated as emergency hypertension resulting from the intense agitation caused by the match result.

He added, in an interview with Sky News Arabia, that a large number of those with high blood pressure were young people and minors, confirming that the cause was linked to agitation during the match rather than being primarily pathological.

The doctor at Benha University Hospital warned against fanaticism in football cheering, stressing that one of the cases admitted to the emergency room was on the verge of a heart attack, and doctors had to double their efforts to calm his agitation.

He continued: 'We encountered a case of a child no more than 12 years old, whose entire body was trembling, talking about the match all the time, and expressing his deep sadness over the Egyptian team's loss, even talking about a conspiracy against Hossam Hassan and the team players, and FIFA's bias towards the opposing team.'

It is noted that the Egyptian national team left the 2026 World Cup after losing to Argentina 3-2 in a match held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, in the Round of 16 of the 23rd edition of the World Cup.