He proved to be his international team's trump card en route to victory in the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in February, when he scored two important goals against Libya and Ivory Coast. He was the winning goal assistant, in the Semi-final match against Senegal when Amr Zaki scored in the 80th minute. He was very dominant in that game, but his accurate shot hit the bar. In the final match, Aboutrika scored the decisive penalty in the shootout which gave Egypt the title.