Essam El-Hadary has expressed his pleasure at playing at the 2018 Fifa World Cup after a 22-year wait.
The 45-year-old has hoped to feature in a World Cup since commencing his international career in 1996. But he had to wait till June 25, 2018 as he made history with his appearance against Saudi Arabia, becoming the oldest player to play at a World Cup and the oldest goalkeeper to save a penalty in the competition.
"What I accomplished in this tournament was the result of years of hard work, dedicated training and suffering that only a few know about."
Saving #WorldCup penalties aged 45 doesn't come easy, ya know!#EGY record-breaker Essam El Hadary spoke to us 👇https://t.co/XbVaO4BpNG pic.twitter.com/Bjyboot1qk
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 25, 2018
Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon who represented Los Cafeteros against Japan at the Brazil 2014 competition at the age of 43 years and 3 days, held the record.
Egypt were eliminated from the World Cup with zero points after losing to Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia. El-Hadary, through his Twitter handle, apologized for the poor results but has also expressed delight in for playing in Russia.
“I played with many generations during my journey. I am proud of being part of this generation of players and coaching staff, who helped us achieve 100 million Egyptians’ dream, and my own, of taking part in the World Cup after 28 years.
“I am sorry about the results, but I’m still proud of being part of this group of players,” he added.
مريت في مشواري بأكتر من جيل ، سعيد وفخور بوجودي مع هذا الجيل من اللاعبين و الجهاز الفني الذين حققوا حلم ١٠٠ مليون وحلمي بالمشاركة في كاس العالم بعد غياب ٢٨ عام مع الاعتذار عن سوء النتائج ولكني فخور بوجودي ضمن هذه المجموعة #شكراً_لكم pic.twitter.com/Icsr1HbWM8
— Essam El-Hadary (@ElHadary) July 2, 2018
El-Hadary is returning to former club Ismaily, following the departure of their first-choice keeper Mohamed Awad who joins Saudi side Al Wehda on a one-year deal.
The three-time Afcon winner has no plans of retiring this season.
