Published On 4/7/2026
|
Last update: 14:29 (Mecca time)
In breathtaking moments, before the start of the decisive penalty shootout between Egypt and Australia in the 2026 World Cup final, cameras captured an exceptional scene that quickly turned into the talk of the sports press and social media platforms globally.
The hero of the shot was not a player or a coach, but rather the “laptop man,” the Egyptian national team’s performance analyst, Mahmoud Selim, who, thanks to his quick wit and alertness, was able to neutralize a potential Australian “trap,” paving the way for a historic qualification for the Pharaohs.
Decisive tactical intervention
The story began in the 119th minute of the match, when Australian national team coach Tony Popovic decided to replace his goalkeeper, Patrick Beach, and bring in veteran goalkeeper Matthew Ryan, in a tactical substitution clearly designed to prevent penalty kicks.
Once the substitution was made, the Egyptian technical staff did not just watch, but Mahmoud Selim appeared gathering the players around a laptop screen inside the green rectangle, and Selim began showing quick clips of Ryan, the most notable of which was a penalty kick taken by French star Kylian Mbappe in a Real Madrid shirt against the Australian goalkeeper, with the aim of studying the angles of his advancement and his early jumping habits.
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
As a result of this momentary analysis, the Egyptian players succeeded in shooting all four of their kicks with impressive success (4-2), and the most prominent beneficiary was the team captain, Mohamed Salah, who realized through the video that Ryan was rushing early, so he decided to shoot the ball calmly and in a professional manner.
Global popularity
The shot did not go unnoticed by the international sports media. Rather, it topped the coverage as a model studying the importance of data analysis in modern football. The ESPN sports network highlighted the event with a tweet in which it indicated that the Egyptian national team coach was showing the team highlights of Real Madrid’s shots before the penalty shootout against Australia.
In the same context, the CBS Sports account summarized the scene, explaining that Australia introduced Matthew Ryan in the 119th minute due to his ability to save penalty kicks, but the Egyptian players immediately began watching clips of previous kicks faced by the goalkeeper, and they succeeded in scoring all of their kicks.
The Touchline account expressed its astonishment at the shot, noting that the Egyptian players were studying the Australian goalkeeper’s movement with great interest seconds before the kicks began.
For its part, the Spanish “Invictus” account provided a detailed analysis, likening Australia’s change to what Louis van Gaal did in the World Cup in 2014, and praised Egypt’s quick reaction, pointing out that small details make big differences, and what happened was a cinematic overdose in the World Cup.
From Twitter posts to making history
On the Arab and Egyptian levels, Mahmoud Selim’s shot was met with widespread celebration, and he turned into a national hero standing behind the scenes. Sports writer Mohamed Al-Saadi compared Selim’s beginnings and his present, tweeting that Mahmoud Selim was analyzing footage of the Egyptian national team in Russia via Twitter and Facebook in 2018, and in 2026 he would enter the field to show the Egyptian players the saves made by the Australian goalkeeper so that the team would win.
Content creator Ali Abu Tabl narrated the story of Slim, who became known internationally as “the laptop man,” pointing out that the profession of performance analysis, which began with primitive methods in 1950 in England, is continued by Slim today with advanced tools that turned the tide of an entire match.
An account bearing the name “Al-Shenawy” also expressed his pride, considering what happened as evidence of development, and that Egypt has finally succeeded in bringing in people who understand and do not leave out any details, describing the snapshot as historical from an authentic Egyptian.
Sports journalist Mohamed Awad praised the character of Slim, describing him as a hardworking and noble man, stressing that he deserves for the world to see his efforts, and expects that his star will shine strongly after the World Cup.
In the midst of these widespread praise, Mahmoud Selim shared his famous picture of him huddled around the computer with the players, and commented on it with simple words that summed up his gratitude and joy for the achievement, saying: “Praise be to God, generous, O Lord.. Generous, O God.. Long live Egypt, uncle.”
