Pharaohs stopper Essam El Hadary woke up on Thursday morning, reading plaudits from around the world and knowing that it all wasn’t a dream
Before the game, all the talk was about Hadary’s age in what was his 150th cap coming into Wednesday night’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Burkina Faso in Libreville, Gabon.
Now, age is no longer a number as Hadary rose magnificently to save two penalties in the 4-3 shootout victory. It wasn’t just in the lottery of the shootout that the keeper proved his heroism.
Just before the end of full time, he made a brilliant save from Banou Diawara’s effort.