Oldest player to appear in the World Cup makes record achievement

Essam El Hadary, the oldest player ever to appear at a World Cup, marked his record achievement with one outstanding penalty save for Egypt but was powerless to stop a second in a 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia.

The 45-year-old goalkeeper flew to his right to make a spectacular stop in the 39th minute from Fahad Al-Muwallad’s spot-kick, awarded for handball, at the Volgograd Arena.

El Hadary was 45 years and 161 days old when he took to the field as the two already-eliminated teams in Group A played only for pride.