Mohamed Abou Gabal, the goalkeeper for Zamalek and the Egyptian national team, revealed the details of his conversation with Mohamed Salah before Sadio Mane took a penalty in the final of the African Cup of Nations that took place last Sunday. Abou Gabal explained on MBC Egypt that he saved a penalty from Sadio Mane, the Senegal star, in the final, confirming that Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian team, came to him before the penalty was taken and assured him that Mane would shoot to the right corner.
He added: "Salah told me verbatim that Mane would come now because I was speaking to you, and he would try to provoke you, which actually happened. Mane said to me that he would shoot to the left corner, and Salah said to Mane, 'We will see, my friend, shoot to the left corner and you will be punished.'"
Abou Gabal, 32 years old, affirmed that the Senegalese team excelled in the penalty shootout because they studied the Egyptian penalty takers very carefully. The Zamalek goalkeeper garnered admiration and a wave of comments across various social media platforms, where numerous photos and videos of his stellar performance in the semi-final against Cameroon were shared.
The Egyptian national team lost the African Cup of Nations title in the final match against Senegal in a penalty shootout with a score of 4-3, after a goalless draw in both the regular and extra time, in a match held at the "Olympic" stadium in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.
