Mohamed Abu Jabal played the full match, but Egypt did not qualify for the African Cup of Nations after losing 2-1, in a resounding surprise after winning the last 3 titles in a row (2006, 2008 and 2010) to blow the winds of change..
miss opportunity
Goalkeeper Abu Jabal was not among the coaches who succeeded in leading the Pharaohs in the past ten years, as Sherif Ekramy, Ahmed El-Shennawy, Essam El-Hadary and Mohamed El-Shennawy took turns guarding the goal during the last decade..
Abu Jabal remained outside the den of the Egyptian team, content with appearing on the bench in some matches, to miss the opportunity to shine with the young generation that played the last matches in the “Cannes 2012” qualifiers.“.
brilliance after 33
In Cameroon, during the Egypt national team camp, the Pharaohs celebrated Abu Jabal’s 33rd birthday, after he appeared for the first time in his history in the African Nations Cup, and starred in a great challenge with his country 11 years after his first appearance.
Abu Jabal appeared in the 88th minute in the round of sixteen against Côte d’Ivoire, to come to him from the womb of the tragedy experienced by his colleague, the first guard of the Pharaohs in recent years, Mohamed El-Shennawy.
Abu Jabal starred and countered a dangerous opportunity in the extra time, then removed a penalty kick by Manchester United defender Eric Bailly, to carry the Pharaohs on his shoulders and advance them to the quarter-finals.
In front of Morocco, Abu Jabal participated in an injury, as he underwent an intensive treatment course before facing the Atlas Lions, to fall more than once during the meeting on the field, refusing to leave, clinging to his chance that came in his last years in the stadiums..
Abu Jabal led the Pharaohs with a wonderful performance against Morocco to safety, before injury forced him to leave the stadium, for the third guard, Mohamed Sobhi, to participate and witness Egypt’s victory in the meeting (2–1).
In front of Cameroon in the semi-finals, fears increased in the absence of Abu Jabal after the blow of El-Shennawy’s exit completely from the tournament, but he returned and shined in the penalty shootout again, and tackled two attempts by Cameroon and led the Pharaohs to the final.
global honor
The matches of the tournament have global follow-up from news agencies and newspapers, especially in England, where Mohamed Salah, the top scorer in the English Premier League and the third best player in the world, is absent from Liverpool because of his national mission with the Egyptian national team, and the public there is interested in following his career in the brown continent.
Former Zamalek coach, Gisvaldo Ferreira, gave Abu Jabal another name, which is “Jabasky”, after a Portuguese basketball player, due to the similarity of the names between them, and the difficulty of Abu Jabal’s pronunciation..
Japasky was the name that the international newspapers preferred to also give to Abu Jabal, to highlight his dramatic appearance in the 88th minute in the final price, then his brilliance in the penalty shootout and lead his country to the final..
Abu Jabal achieved the fame he wished for when he was a youth player with a dream of professionalism, but the age was faster to put him in the box after 30. However, the opportunity of a lifetime came to him in Cameroon, to increase his hopes of ending his first championship with the Pharaohs, and a gold medal adorning his chest.
