Essam El-Hadry retires

Essam El- Hadry, legendary Egyptian shot-stopper finally retired from international football after representing his country in the just concluded World Cup.

El- Hadry won four African Cup of Nations [1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010] with Egypt, but was denied a fifth in 2017 after Cameroon’s sensational triumph.Also, he was named the best goalkeeper in Africa four times.

He made his debut for the Egyptian National team in 1996 and since then featured in 159 matches in a career spanned over two decades for the Pharaohs.

The 45-year old made history at the World cup in Russia as he became the oldest player to feature in the history of the tournament after he manned the goal posts in the Pharaohs’ last group game against Saudi Arabia, he went on to save a penalty kick in the game but that doesn’t stop his side from losing the game.

“There is an end for every start. After a lot of thinking I took my decision to international retirement 22 years, 4 months and 12 days from my first match with Egypt and I saw that this is the right moment to hang my gloves after we made the Egyptian people happy by participating in the World Cup,” El-Hadary stated in a statement announcing his retirement.

“This is a moment I didn’t want to come, I trained hard day and night to reach high performances and to be with the Egyptian team, I am very proud to play 159 matches with Egypt, won the African Cup of Nations four times, reached the final in 2017, won the best goalkeeper in Africa four times, won the Arab games in 2007 and finally reach the World Cup.

“Finally, thank God for everything. I want to thank my family for helping me always especially my father and thank everyone of you for your support that helped me a lot to reach all these achievements.”

At club level, however, El-Hadary remains active between the sticks for Egyptian top-flight side Ismaily.

                                                                Most accurate football prediction website in Nigeria...