Heartbreak for former Telford schoolboy Sam Morsy in World Cup debut
Former Telford schoolboy Sam Morsy today made his World Cup debut as he came on as a 50th minute substitute for Egypt against Uruguay.
But it was heartbreak for Morsy as Uruguay snatched the lead in the 89th minute to win 1-0.
Every summer Morsy can be found in the fitness centre at his former school Thomas Telford, putting in the groundwork ahead of the professional football season, but today he joined his Egyptian teammates in taking on Uruguay at the World Cup.
The Wigan Athletic midfielder spent five years at Thomas Telford between 2003 and 2008, and his former PE Teacher Iain Sweeney, revealed that the 26-year-old even still holds the school's shot put record.
Asked what set the youngster apart from his peers Mr Sweeney, now the PGCE PE Care Leader at Thomas Telford, said: "His athleticism, his real high work rate. He played in midfield and I have seen him play when he was at Chesterfield and I think as he is getting older he is starting to change his game and he is becoming more of a passer.
"But in the early days he was so good at breaking up play because he could cover every blade of grass on the pitch.
"For us in PE he was great because he loved his sport. Any time he went out he wanted to play football."
Mr Sweeney said the school had been delighted to see Morsy's success, which first saw him make his international debut against Guinea on August 30, 2016.
He said: "It is great to see, he has cracked on and he has been back to school two or three times just to say hello and reconnect. He comes in to see the PE staff and normally at this time of year he comes in to use the fitness suite for a bit of his pre-season training but obviously this year he is somewhere else!"
Thomas Telford has produced a number of successful footballers in recent years, including Danny Guthrie and Connor Goldson, but Mr Sweeney said he believed that Morsy would be the first to have gone to represent his country at a World Cup.
He said the midfielder's success would serve as an inspiration to other pupils at the school.
"I think a lot of the students, the vast majority of the football students know of him and know he came here so they will be wanting to look out for that and how he gets on, especially those who are playing football at academy level," Mr Sweeney.
Morsy was originally at Wolverhampton Wanderers' academy before joining Port Vale on a football scholarship.
The midfielder, who captains his club side, has played in both Egypt's warm up games for the tournament after Argentinian coach Hector Cuper selected him in his 23-man squad.
The focus with the country has been firmly on the Liverpool star Mohammed Salah, whose injured shoulder has left Egyptian supporters fretting over his availability for the competition.
Mr Sweeney said that his former student's international adventure would give him another team to cheer on at the tournament, apart from England.
He said: "I was saying to someone today we always have a vested interest in the home nations but there are so many games that are null and void but definitely when Egypt are playing I will make time to watch them.
"The team will be watching with anticipation hoping they go through the group stage, it will be a tough ask."
