Egypt’s Keeper Under Fire: Ekrami Slams Shennawy After AFCON Semifinal Loss to Senegal

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Ekrami El-Shahat, the former goalkeeper for Al Ahly and the Egyptian national team, criticized Mohamed El Shenawy, the current Egypt shot-stopper, after Egypt’s 1-0 loss to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations semifinal held in Morocco.

The only goal came from outside the box when Sadio Mane struck, and the Egyptian goalkeeper merely watched the ball go into the net, with no real attempt to deny it.

Speaking on MBC MASR, Ekrami said he was saddened for Mohamed Shenawy and noted that he had defended him after the Ivory Coast goals in the quarterfinal, which the Pharaohs won 3-2.

He added: there is no justification to defend Shenawy after the Senegal game; his abilities should be better than what was shown, and there is no excuse for conceding a long-range shot with a clear angle.

He also said that Shenawy did not even attempt to challenge Mane’s shot, which sailed past two Egypt players and should have been stoppable by a goalkeeper.

Continuing, Ekrami claimed: “When I train a goalkeeper, I tell him to go for the ball even if it goes into the net; he should have done so, but instead he sat on his knees and watched.”

Ekrami added: “He did it against Ivory Coast, but there were many players in front; still, we gave him a pass, but what happened against Senegal is unacceptable, especially since he faced no real test and let through a long-range strike.”

He criticized Egypt coach Hosam Hassan, saying it made little sense to chase extra time and penalties when the team is fatigued, a fact even the manager admitted.

And now a dash of humor to soften the moment: Punchline 1 — If saving shots were an Olympic sport, Shenawy would still be filing for a participation ribbon. Punchline 2 — His reflexes are so chill that even a long-range screamer looks at him and yawns.