Schubert follows in Schmeichel’s footsteps… a rare family achievement in the World Cup

The appearance of Egyptian goalkeeper Mustafa Schubert with his country in the 2026 World Cup, during the match against Belgium, carried a special historical dimension, not only at the level of Egyptian football, but also in the record of the World Cup tournament, as the Schubert family joined a rare list in the history of the World Cup, becoming the second family to witness the participation of a father and his son in the goalkeeping position in the tournament, after the Danish Schmeichel family.

This achievement brought to mind the most famous story in the history of World Cup goalkeeping, linked to the family of the legendary Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and his son Kasper Schmeichel. The father participated in the 1998 World Cup finals in France, and led his country to the quarter-finals, which is the best World Cup achievement in the history of Danish football. Schmeichel’s name continued to be present in the tournament after Peter’s retirement, when his son Kasper followed in his footsteps and participated with the Danish national team in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, contributing to his country’s reaching the round of 16. He also caught attention with his brilliance against Croatia when he saved a penalty kick during the match.

Kasper’s journey did not stop there, as he returned to goalkeeper for Denmark in the Qatar World Cup 2022, even though his country exited the tournament in the group stage after finishing fourth in its group with one point. Thus, he became the first son of a World Cup goalkeeper to participate in two different editions of the World Cup, strengthening the position of the Schmeichel family as the most famous goalkeeper family in the history of the tournament.

After many years of the Schmeichel family maintaining this unique privilege, the Schubert family came to register its presence on the same historical list.

In the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Ahmed Schubert was one of the most prominent members of the Egyptian national team, which returned to the finals after an absence of 36 years. The “Pharaohs” then made strong performances against the Netherlands, Ireland and England, leaving a positive impression despite being eliminated from the first round, while Schubert conceded only one goal during the tournament, which came against the England team.

After 36 years, the name “Schubert” returned to the largest football stage in the world through Mustafa Schubert, who rose through the ranks of Al-Ahly of Egypt until he became one of the most prominent goalkeepers in Egyptian football, joining the national team’s roster participating in the 2026 World Cup.

Mustafa Schubert participated against Belgium in his second official match for the Egyptian national team, after his first appearance was against Angola in the last round of the group stage of the African Cup of Nations, which was held in Morocco and ended in a goalless draw.