Final
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EGYPT 2-0 England
#2 : Mostafa Asal 3-0 Marwan ElShorbagy 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (49m)
#1 : Ali Farag 3-2 Mohamed ElShorbagy 8-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7 (70m)
Egypt win 2023 WSF Men’s World Team Championship
Egypt have won their third consecutive WSF Men’s World Team Championship after a thrilling contest with England in the final. That win for Egypt, a high-quality affair clinched by World No.4 Mostafa Asal and World No.1 Ali Farag, was also their third consecutive victory over England in a final, and the fifth final in a row to feature two of the modern game’s great rivals.
Going into his match with World No.8 Marwan ElShorbagy, questions had been raised about the fitness of 22-year-old Mostafa Asal, with the former World No.1 a surprise omission from yesterday’s semi-final victory over Switzerland. Today, though, those questions were firmly answered by a brilliantly controlled performance from Asal.
In a competitive and thoroughly entertaining contest, ‘The Raging Bull’ proved too strong for ElShorbagy, who, despite putting in an excellent performance, could not match the pace, power and accuracy of an inspired Asal, with the Egyptian clinching a trio of 11-9 wins to take the match 3-0 in 49 minutes.
This left Marwan’s brother, Mohamed, needing a win over old rival and World No.1 Ali Farag to keep England in the tie.
In a pulsating battle, the 30th between the two since the 2010 British Junior Open, the Beast’ took the lead with a hard-fought 11-8 win. Farag responded with a dominant 11-2 victory in game two, only for the resurgent ElShorbagy to regain the lead when he took a fiercely contested third game 11-7.
Farag, winner of six of the last seven contests between the two, came back once again in a stop-start fourth game to force ElShorbagy into a fifth game. In a tense battle, which neither man deserved to lose, it was Farag who was able to maintain his concentration, with the 31-year-old controlling the court masterfully as he got his side over the line with an 11-7 win to close out a classic 70-minute encounter.
Egypt coach Hesham El Attar said: “It’s absolutely amazing! There was a lot of tension; I know it was slightly expected that we had to deliver, but we wanted it badly. That expectation creates extra pressure. We had to distract ourselves with daily routine and not think too far ahead. One hour at a time.”
“As everyone knows, anything can happen and as we saw in the matches it was very tense and rallies were very close. Ali felt that responsibility and at one point wasn’t very happy with his game. He had to make some changes and then went back, and his retrieving was amazing.
“It’s a wonderful feeling and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”
Semis
EGYPT 2-0 Switzerland
Ali Farag 3-0 Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (28m)
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (43m)
Egypt, too, were in dominant form over first-time semi-finalists Switzerland.
World No.1 Ali Farag, a crucial part of the title-winning sides of 2019 and 2017, put in a vintage performance to give his side the lead, with the 31-year-old taking down Swiss No.1 Nicolas Mueller 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 in 28 minutes.
Mazen Hesham, promoted to No.2 today with World No.4 Mostafa Asal rested, then came through a competitive battle with Dimitri Steinmann, with the mercurial World No.7 clinching three tight games 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 to send his team through with no need for a third match.
After the tie, Egypt Hesham Al Attar said: “It feels amazing – on paper we were pretty confident but anything can happen, and they’ve got very tough players and you can always be nervous in a semi-final.
“We’re just happy to have gone through and hope to do well. It should be a good matchup tomorrow.”
Quarters
EGYPT 3-0 SCOTLAND
Ali Farag 3-0 Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-1, 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Alasdair Prott (SCO) 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (24m)
“I don’t think I’m a leader, but I’m glad to hear that!”
World No.1 @AliFarag on being viewed as a squad leader after Egypt reach the last 4 of the WSF Men’s World Team Championship #WSFMWT pic.twitter.com/yDE2uXM5am
— World Squash (WSF) (@WorldSquash) December 15, 2023
EGYPT 3-0 SOUTH AFRICA
Youssef Soliman 3-0 Damian Groenewald (RSA) 11-8, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)
Mostafa Asal 3-0 Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (22m)
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) 11-2, 11-7, 0-0 retired (31m)
Pools
EGYPT 3-0 IRELAND
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Sean Conroy (IRL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (22m)
Mostafa Asal 3-0 Sam Buckley (IRL) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (28m)
Youssef Soliman 3-0 Oisin Logan (IRL) 11-1, 11-8, 11-6 (32m)
Youssef Soliman 3-0 Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) 11-1, 11-7, 11-2 (23m)Ali Farag 3-0 Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (24m)Mazen Hesham 3 -0 Ameeshenraj Chandaran (MAS) 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 (27m)
5/12: YOUM7: GAWAD OUT, MOMEN ILL, SOLIMAN IN
Press: Arriving in NZ
The WSF Men’s World Teams rounds off 2022 from 11-17 December in Tauranga, New Zealand.
The Pool stage will see 24 teams competing in eight pools, the top two teams in each progressing to the last 16 knockout.
Pool A : [1] Egypt, Malaysia, Ireland
Pool B : [2] England, South Africa, Philippines
Pool C : [3] France, Australia, Netherlands
Pool D : [4] Switzerland, Nigeria, Japan
Pool E : [5] USA, Czechia, Cook Islands
Pool F : [6] Wales, New Zealand, Korea
Pool G : [7] Scotland, Canada, Samoa
Pool H : [8] Hong Kong, Germany, Tahiti
Squads
Australia : Joseph White, Nick Calvert, Rhys Dowling, Dylan Molinaro
Canada : David Baillargeon, Salah Eltorgman, Liam Marrison, Brett Schille
Cook Islands : Manu Priest, Joshua Simeon, Brian Tapurau, Dylan Russell
Czechia : Viktor Byrtus, Daniel Mekbib, Jakub Solnicky, Martin Svec
Egypt : Ali Farag, Mostafa Asal, Mazen Hesham, Karim Abdel Gawad, Youssef Soliman
England : Mohamed ElShorbagy, Marwan ElShorbagy, Patrick Rooney, Adrian Waller
France : Victor Crouin, Baptiste Masotti, Auguste Dussourd, Gregoire Marche
Germany : Raphael Kandra, Yannick Omlor, Valentin Rapp, Simon Rösner
Hong Kong : Tsz Kwan Lau, Henry Leung, Donald Tang, Chi Him Wong
Ireland : Sam Buckley, Sean Conroy, Michael Creaven, Oisin Logan
Japan : Yuta Ando, Yujin Ikeda, Naoki Sone, Shota Yasunari
Malaysia : Ameeshenraj Chandaran, Addeen Idrakie, Sanjay Jeeva, Hafiz Zhafri
Netherlands : Rowan Damming, Sam Gerrits, Hjalmer Mols, Thijs Roukens
New Zealand : Paul Coll, Lwamba Chileshe, Temwa Chileshe, Elijah Thomas
Nigeria : Onaopemipo Adegoke, Babatunde Ajagbe, Gabriel Olufunmilayo, Kehinde Samuel
Philippines : Reymark Begornia, Robert Garcia, David Pelino, Jonathan Reyes
Korea : Donghyun Ji, Hyeonbeom Kang, Dongjun Lee, Dongmin Lee
Samoa : Leo Apa Fatialofa, Donald Marfleet, Onesemo Old
Scotland : Greg Lobban, Rory Stewart, Alan Clyne, Alasdair Prott,
South Africa : Jean-Pierre Brits, Damian Groenewald, Dewald van Niekerk, Tristen Worth
Switzerland : Nicolas Mueller, Dimitri Steinmann, Yannick Wilhelmi, Robin Gadola,
Tahiti : Laurent Loudier, Adrien Maury, Kevin Pons, Kamal Soussi
USA : Andrew Douglas , Timmy Brownell, Shahjahan Khan, Spencer Lovejoy
Wales : Joel Makin, Emyr Evans, Elliot Morris, Owain Taylor-
