Essam El Hadary

Essam El Hadary is an Egyptian former professional goalkeeper, born in Kafr El Battikh, Damietta in 1973 and nicknamed the "High Dam". ¹ He spent the largest part of his career at Al Ahly, won 159 caps for Egypt — the most by an Egyptian goalkeeper — and at the 2018 World Cup became, at 45 years and 161 days, the oldest player ever to appear in a World Cup match. ¹² No source read makes any statement of his religion, so his data record leaves his faith as unknown. ¹³

El Hadary began at Damietta in 1993 and joined Al Ahly in 1996, where he spent twelve years and made 412 appearances, winning seven Egyptian Premier League titles, four Egypt Cups, three CAF Champions League titles and three CAF Super Cups among many honours. ¹ After leaving in 2008 he played for Sion in Switzerland, Ismaily, Zamalek, Sudan's Al-Merreikh, Al-Ittihad Alexandria on loan, Wadi Degla, Saudi club Al-Taawoun — for whom he scored a stoppage-time penalty in 2017, becoming the oldest scorer in the Saudi Pro League — and Nogoom, ending his playing career in 2020 with 771 club appearances. ¹

El Hadary represented Egypt from 1996 to 2018 and won 159 caps, third on Egypt's all-time appearance list and a record for a goalkeeper. ¹² He became the oldest player ever to appear at the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2017, saving two penalties in the semi-final shoot-out against Burkina Faso, and in June 2018 was the oldest player selected for the World Cup in Russia. ¹ On 25 June 2018 he started Egypt's final group match against Saudi Arabia and, at 45 years and 161 days, became the oldest player in history to play in — and debut at — a World Cup, saving a penalty in the match; the FIFA World Football Museum later exhibited his gloves from the game. ¹ After retiring he became a goalkeeping coach, working with the Syrian national team from 2023. ²

No source read for this record makes any statement of El Hadary's religion: neither the English nor the Arabic article mentions a religion for him anywhere in its text or categories, and Wikidata carries no religion value for him at all. ¹²³ A faith value cannot be built on complete absence, so his record states his faith as unknown. ¹

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