Did a caption accompanying a viral image correctly claim it showed FIFA President Gianni Infantino making a phone call after Egypt took a 2-0 lead over Argentina? No, that's not true: Infantino did not attend this World Cup game in Atlanta on July 7, 2026. Instead, he was at the Switzerland-Colombia match, held in Vancouver a few hours later on the same day, more than 2,000 miles away.
The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @SabriAmca1453 account on X on July 9, 2026. Translated from Turkish, it read:
Score: Argentina 0 - 2 Egypt when
Who did the FIFA president call ❓❓
This is what the image looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @SabriAmca1453 on X.)
The call was allegedly placed at the 69-minute mark of the Argentina-Egypt match, shortly after Egypt took a 2-0 lead. Argentina fought back and won the game 3-2 in the final minutes.
An image (archived here) by the Anadolu Agency, a Turkish state-run news agency, shows Infantino at the Switzerland-Colombia match in Vancouver, which was also held on July 7, 2026. It is pictured below:
(Image source: Ercin Erturk / Anadolu via Reuters Connect.)
While the Argentina-Egypt game started at noon Eastern time (ET) in Atlanta and the Switzerland-Colombia game began at 4 p.m. ET, a typical nonstop commercial flight from Atlanta to Vancouver (archived here) takes five and a half hours, making it impossible to attend both matches even if Infantino had been in Atlanta to begin with. While flight times may vary slightly depending on the carrier and conditions, no nonstop commercial flight covers that distance in under four hours -- less time than separated the two kickoffs.
