Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary is retiring from the national team after becoming the oldest man to play in a World Cup match.
El Hadary started the World Cup as Egypt’s backup goalkeeper, but he played in his team’s final group match in Russia, saving a penalty in the 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia on June 25.
“After 22 years, four months and 12 days, I saw it as the best moment to hang up my gloves,” the 45-year-old El Hadary writes on Facebook. “This is a moment I didn’t want to come … I am very proud to have played with the national team in 159 internationals, participating in unprecedented achievements.”
In this file photo dated Monday, June 25, 2018, Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary deflects a penalty during the group A match between Saudi Arabia and Egypt at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd, Russia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
El Hadary made his debut for the national team in 1996. He won four African Cup of Nations titles with Egypt, including three straight with him as goalkeeper in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
— AP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
