The Masr El Makasa Courier
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
No sign of nerves from Bassem El Hadary at 21 — 8.26
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bassem El Hadary did not need any: 8.26, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Trezeguet Zaki is the real thing at 21
A season average of 7.55 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Masr El Makasa know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Vintage Ahmed El Sheikh — 7.98
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.98, and nobody on the pitch better.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Ibrahim Soliman says Masr El Makasa went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market28 Dec 2026
Walid Ashour hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Masr El Makasa can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Masr El Makasa
Bassem El Nenny was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match26 Dec 2026
Ahmed El Sheikh the difference as Masr El Makasa beat El Dakhleya
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ahmed El Sheikh. 2‑1 against El Dakhleya, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
The crowd has taken to Trezeguet Zaki
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Mohamed Tarek runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
In brief
- The dugout A satisfied Shikabala Zaki
- The dugout When it matters, Bassem El Hadary plays
- The dugout Ramadan Sobhi asks for a word with the manager