El-Hadary sets World Cup record as oldest player, saves penalty

More than two decades after his international debut, 45-year-old Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player to feature at a World Cup.

El-Hadary, who had never played in a World Cup match before, earned the start for Egypt's third and final Group A encounter with Saudi Arabia on Monday.

And he marked the occasion with a phenomenal diving stop on Fahad Al-Muwallad's penalty in the first half of his record-breaking outing.

Colombian shot-stopper Faryd Mondragon set the original benchmark in 2014 at 43 years and three days.

The first of El-Hadary's 159 appearances for Egypt came back in 1996 - before current international teammate Ramadan Sobhi was even born. He is also older than three managers at the World Cup: Belgium's Roberto Martinez, Serbia's Mladen Krstajic, and Senegal's Aliou Cisse.

"I'm very happy to play at the World Cup, and that is a message to all footballers and others around the world that you should believe in your dreams and fight to make them come true," he told BBC Sport before the tournament. "My age is 45 years old, but for me, that is just a number on paper."

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, who was frustrated by El-Hadary in the Africa Cup of Nations, called the goalkeeper the toughest opponent he ever faced. He lifted four continental titles with Egypt, famously denying Drogba's spot-kick in the final of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.