A 26-year-old goalkeeper from Giza just denied Lionel Messi from the penalty spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mostafa Shobeir, Egypt’s first-choice keeper, had already saved a penalty from Iran’s Mehdi Taremi during the group stage, and his second act of defiance against arguably the greatest player in history has turned him into the tournament’s breakout star.
The saves that rewrote history
Shobeir’s penalty save against Taremi came during Egypt’s group-stage match against Iran on June 26-27, preserving a 1-1 draw that proved critical for Egypt’s advancement to the knockout rounds. It was Egypt’s first progression past the group stage in several decades, a fact that alone would have made Shobeir a household name in Cairo.
With that second save against Messi, Shobeir became only the fourth goalkeeper in World Cup history to save two penalties (outside of shootouts) in a single tournament. The other three: Tomaszewski in 1974, Friedel in 2002, and Szczęsny in 2022.
Shobeir plays club football for Al Ahly, the Egyptian powerhouse, and carries a notable family legacy. His father, Ahmed Shobeir, was Egypt’s goalkeeper at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where he kept a clean sheet throughout the tournament. The younger Shobeir, standing 1.85 meters tall, has now arguably surpassed his father’s World Cup achievements in a single week.
