Egyptian commentator Abdel Rahim Mohamed has reportedly died from a heart attack after Egypt crashed out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup following 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Abdel Rahim Mohamed was reported to have become increasingly emotional watching the game at TV studios in Cairo. When he was due to analyse Egypt’s 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia he was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack, after which he was confirmed dead.
Egypt were dispatched from the tournament without a single point after Salem Al-Dawsari scored a 94th minute winner for the Saudis.
The Group A clash between Saudi Arabia and Egypt was billed as a dead rubber as both sides were already eliminated courtesy of defeats to Uruguay and hosts Russia.
Liverpool’s Mo Salah had given The Pharaohs something to cheer about when he opened the scoring on 22 minutes however.
They had even more reason to smile when Essam El Hadary — who became the oldest player to feature at a World Cup aged 45 — saved a first half penalty from Fahad Al-Muwallad.
But he was later beaten from the spot by Salman Al-Faraj to send the sides in level at the break.
Deep into injury time, Al-Dawsari struck a deserved late winner to end Saudi Arabia’s tournament on a high note.
Hector Cuper, Egypt’s coach, expressed his condolences in a press conference after the match hoping that the loss is not the reason Mohamed passed away.
Former goalkeeper Ahmed Fawzi said his colleague Mohamed — who used to coach Egyptian club side Zamalek — was emotional during the match and looked ‘exhausted’, according to local reports.
