Africa Sports

How Egypt’s ‘water bottle’ game failed against Senegal in AFCON final

Gabaski wins MVP of AFCON final

Gabaski ends 2021 AFCON as goalkeeper with most penalty saves

Egypt fall to Senegal in 2021 AFCON final

Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Qotb Abou Gabal Ali Gabaski yet again grabbed all the attention with his ‘water bottle’ tricks in his country’s African Cup of Nations final game against Senegal.

The Pharaohs lost 4-2 on penalties with Gabaski earning all the applauds for a stunning show. He made eight saves including, Sadio Mane’s 7th minutes’ penalty without the help of his water bottle.

His goalkeeping heroics could however be attributed to the ‘water bottle’ tricks that earned him fame in the semi-final match against Cameroon.

The bottle had a print of all the Senegal player’s preferred angles. Unlike the semi-finals against Cameroon, it fairly failed although he guessed four directions out of the five penalties right.

For the first penalty, he guessed right but Kalidou Koulobaly added power and thus Gabaski could not reach it.

The Zamalek goalkeeper again went the right way for Senegal’s second but couldn’t reach it as Abou Diallo placed it beyond the goalkeeper.

Mohamed Abdelmonem stepped up for Egypt’s second and missed after Zizu had scored the first.

Bouna Sarr picked up Senegal’s third and this time Gabaski dived early and made the save to keep Egypt in the game.

Marwan Hamdi scored to draw the North Africans level, 2-2

Olympique Marseille Bamba Dieng stepped up and sent Gabaski the wrong way to score Senegal’s fourth spot-kick.

Mohanad Lasheen missed with Sadio Mane wrapping it up for Senegal with a powerful effort although Gabaski for the fourth time went the right way but could not save it.

Gabaski won the man-of-the-match award for an impressive show in the final. He ended the tournament as the goalkeeper with the most penalty saves, 8.

Despite the loss, football fans hailed the goalkeeper for his amazing performance throughout the tournament.

Below are some tweets of appreciation to Gabaski for his heroics

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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