Egyptian goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadary made an honorable appearance in the World Cup, defending Egypt against Saudi Arabia in the final World Cup match for both countries after Egypt was eliminated by Russia and Uruguay.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, due to a fatal defensive error Egypt still conceded, losing 2-1.<\/p>\n
Despite the disappointment, Egyptian fans could still find some pride thanks to the world records Al-Hadary broke, which has put his name on the international map once and for all.<\/p>\n
At 43 years and 161 days, Al-Hadary became the oldest player to participate in the World Cup, breaking Colombian Faryd Mondragon\u2019s record (43 years and three days).<\/p>\n
While this is an impressive enough record speaking volumes about the player\u2019s perseverance, Hadary had even more to give.<\/p>\n
The goalkeeper broke another record by becoming the first African goalkeeper to fend off a penalty shot, throwing himself at a shot by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Fahad al-Muwallad in the first half of the game.<\/p>\n
After the match, Hadary spoke to FIFA to express satisfaction with his achievements, \u201cGod helped me crown my football career with a participation in the World Cup,\u201d Hadary said, \u201cThis in itself is an accomplishment. We must benefit from both the positive and negative aspects. There are many lessons to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hadary also expressed optimism regarding the future of football in Egypt, calling on future generations not to disappoint, \u201cEgypt\u2019s players must continue to work hard. I call on the next generation of players to work diligently to raise Egypt\u2019s profile, and to view what I achieved throughout my football history as an incentive for them and an example of persistence and sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marked as one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Egypt, Hadary began his international football career at the age of 17 with the Demyetta club, displaying an impressive performance even at a young age. He then moved to Al-Ahly in 1996 as Ahmed Shoubir\u2019s substitute goalkeeper.<\/p>\n
He would play as main goalkeeper in several clubs before becoming the substitute goalkeeper for the National Egyptian Team, benched in favor of Nader al-Sayed. Four years later, he became the national team\u2019s main goalkeeper, participating in over 100 international matches over his career with the national team. The player won 38 titles and six personal achievements over his career before the World Cup, winning \u201cBest Goalkeeper in African Championship\u201d three times.<\/p>\n
Hadary is also the goalkeeper who participated in the highest number of international matches, playing 154 matches, including Saudi Arabia\u2019s match. He is only the 7th player in Egypt\u2019s history to exceed 100 international matches.<\/p>\n
Egypt participated in the World Cup for the first time since 1990, and was classified into Group A along with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Russia. The Egyptian team lost all of their matches, and left the tournament along with Saudi Arabia, disappointing fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Egyptian goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadary made an honorable appearance in the World Cup, defending Egypt against Saudi Arabia in the final World Cup match for both countries after Egypt was eliminated by Russia and Uruguay. Unfortunately, due to a fatal defensive error Egypt still conceded, losing 2-1. Despite the disappointment, Egyptian fans could still find some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":95877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[39377,39376,39378,8471],"class_list":["post-95876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-section","tag-egyptian-goalkeeper","tag-essam-al-hadary","tag-final-world-cup-match","tag-saudi-arabia"],"yoast_head":"\n