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Here’s one of the pictures of Senegal winning the Africa Cup of Nations final in Yaounde on February 6: The Egyptian goalkeeper checks a bottle before every shot, then carefully hides it in a towel. After the game, the bottle was picked up courtside and the video went viral.
Posted and retweeted, the video amassed millions of views. The 26-second video shows a plastic bottle with stickers on it, each with the name of a Senegalese player, and a drawing of the goal area where he prefers to shoot from the free-throw. Before each shot by the Senegalese striker, she was carefully consulted by Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal.
Egypt goalkeeper Gabaski forgot his bottle after the defeat. Information about Senegalese penalty takers.
If anything, this should go straight to the CAF museum. pic.twitter.com/e1LMbZPTUm
— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) February 7, 2022
Gabaski, who started CAN as a backup goalie and became a starter following El Shenawy’s injury, was one of the big players in the game. Known for his penalty skills, he made several saves in the round of 16 against Côte d’Ivoire and in the semi-final against Cameroon. In the final, he seemed ready to continue writing his story, preventing Senegal captain Sadio Mane’s penalty in the seventh minute. If he wins again with a shot two hours later in the evening, He couldn’t stop Senegal from winning.
It’s not uncommon for goalkeepers to use cheat sheets to learn about opposing shooters’ preferences on penalties, bottles or gloves.