Mostafa Shobeir has written his name into World Cup history, becoming only the fourth goalkeeper ever to save two penalties from open play at a single tournament. The 26-year-old Al Ahly stopper, whose father played at the 1990 finals, has been one of the stories of the 2026 World Cup, joining Jan Tomaszewski (1974), Brad Friedel (2002) and Wojciech Szczesny (2022) in a very select company.
"Most fans present at Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday expected a Lionel Messi show," according to reports — instead they watched Shobeir fling himself across goal to keep out Messi's spot-kick. Egypt led 1-0 at the break, and the goalkeeper also denied Julian Alvarez from the spot, yet Argentina clawed their way back to win 3-2.
It was a cruel contrast: Egypt's historic first passage beyond the group stage on one side, the reigning champions' vast tournament know-how on the other. So could Shobeir's record-breaking display on the world stage mark the start of a new era for Egyptian football?
