Mustafa Shobeir, the goalkeeper of the Egyptian national team, expressed his great happiness at participating with the Pharaohs in the 2026 World Cup.
Mustafa Shobeir participated in all of the Egyptian national team's matches during the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, which saw draws with Belgium and Iran, and a win over New Zealand.
Mustafa Shobeir said in statements to the FIFA website: "For any Egyptian citizen to be part of the national team, that is absolutely amazing... I love the pressure, and I love the atmosphere and the taste of this competition... It is a dream for us as a family."
Regarding his name being linked to the career of his father, Ahmed Shobeir, he said: "At first, when I was young, it was frustrating... I was always compared to my father, and some people hadn't even seen me play."
He added: "People didn't know me; they would recognize my face and then say, 'Ah, so you only play because of your father'... But I also believe that was one of the things that made me stronger."
He continued: "I always treat him as my father, not as a former goalkeeper, but I definitely listen to his advice on football as well."
He went on: "Of course, I can listen to him, but the nature of our relationship is that he always tells me: 'I will just watch you, and if I see something wrong, I will tell you: pay attention to this and that, and try to fix it this way,' just like any father does, and I think it's going well."
Mustafa Shobeir concluded his statements by saying: "Usually, I don't like to use my phone on match day; I always like to isolate myself from everything, and he sends me a short message saying: 'Enjoy'... Yes, that's the message he always sends me before the match."
The United States of America is hosting the 2026 World Cup, along with Mexico and Canada, with 48 teams participating for the first time in the tournament's history, from June 11 to July 19.
