Egypt's Mohamed El Shenawy braced for second World Cup
Pharaohs have never won a game at the global showpiece
Class of 2026 in Group G with Belgium, IR Iran and New Zealand
A player's first match always carries special memories. In many cases, the atmosphere before and after the game lingers long after the details of the match itself have faded. But imagine the joy of being named Man of the Match on your World Cup debut. That is exactly what happened to No1 Mohamed El Shenawy in his first appearance on football’s biggest stage.
El Shenawy put on a goalkeeping clinic against Uruguay at , and has since cemented his status as one of the Pharaohs’ biggest stars. The Al Ahly captain is now set to join an exclusive group as one of only three Egyptian players to feature in two World Cups, alongside and – both also part of the squad eight years ago.
In an exclusive interview with FIFA, El Shenawy shared his memories of his first World Cup and Egypt’s ambitions for their fourth finals, including a first win and place in the knockout rounds.
Read on for our full Mohamed El Shenawy interview
Mohamed El Shenawy: It’s a momentous occasion for any player. It’s a dream that every footballer strives to achieve. I achieved the dream in 2018, and now I’m preparing for a second go-round. Playing in the World Cup is something I’m deeply passionate about. It’s a truly global event, and it’s a source of immense pride to represent my country there. It’s a dream I’ve always had.
It was an easier journey this time. We were extremely focused throughout the qualifiers. The qualification campaign was difficult, but we stayed focused as a team. The early wins gave us a big boost and made the road ahead easier in the matches that followed.
Of course, I remember it vividly. It was my first World Cup match. Egypt hadn’t been to the tournament in 28 years, so every player was completely focused. We couldn’t sleep the night before, we were so focused and excited. Most of the players who were due to feature couldn’t sleep, and the match was scheduled for noon. It was a dream come true for all of us, and fans across Egypt were eagerly anticipating the match.
We all understood that we were representing the entire Egyptian people, and it’s a source of pride to represent your country on that sort of stage. For us, it was the event of a lifetime. Thank God, we went in highly motivated and delivered a strong performance. And thank God, I was named Man of the Match. It was an extraordinary moment for me to win that award and to be recognised as the best goalkeeper in my very first World Cup match. I never expected to win it, but it was the reward for a long stretch of hard work by all of us. Thank God, we did a good job, and we ask God to grant us success in this World Cup as well.
We’ve lacked experience. We hadn’t qualified for the World Cup in 28 years, and it was the team’s first time competing at that level, so it was only natural that we lacked experience. But we’ve gained a great deal of experience since that tournament, playing matches against major international teams.
Today, the picture is much clearer for us, and we can achieve something special at the upcoming World Cup. Of course, we have to define our objectives and ambitions to reach the latter stages of the tournament. Right now, it’s essential that we qualify for the knockout rounds.
Mohamed Salah, Trezeguet and I have played in the World Cup before, and we can pass that experience on to the rest of the squad and help them acclimatise to the tournament environment. We’re preparing to face some very strong sides at the World Cup. And that will work in our favour, because we’ll go into the tournament at peak readiness.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m dead-set on going all the way at the World Cup. It will certainly be difficult, but my own objective and ambition is to win the tournament.
First and foremost, though – on a team level and for me personally, with this being my second World Cup – I’m fully aware of the quality of the teams who will be there. We are talking among ourselves and pursuing our ambitions step by step, starting with getting through the first round. So if you ask me what my dream is, I’ll say it’s to lift the World Cup.
The squad are currently focusing on friendlies and preparing for the World Cup. We aspire to get to a point where we achieve something new – something that has never been achieved before. As I said, the first step is getting through the first round, then we’ll approach the next stage one step at a time as well. For us, progressing that far in the tournament would be an enormous achievement.
Of course. We also have stadiums in Africa which are known to be deafening, and I’ve experienced that firsthand on more than one occasion.
It will be a huge match for us. We’ve played before, but things are clearly different now, and the circumstances will be different too.
It’s definitely a huge match for us and a momentous occasion for the players who will be facing Belgium for the first time in that stadium. And of course, the fans will be there, cheering on both sides. It’s a major match for us, and the most important thing is that we go into it full of confidence. God willing, we’ll be able to come away with the win.
Sources: FIFA Official
