Mohamed Abdel Monsef appointed Egypt Under-20 goalkeeping coach

The Egyptian Football Association has appointed former goalkeeper Mohamed Abdel Monsef as goalkeeping coach of Egypt’s youth national team, made up of players born in 2007, after he gained experience in several coaching roles since retiring from playing.

The team is managed by Wael Reyad and is preparing for the North Africa qualifying tournament for the Africa Cup of Nations youth competition.

Egypt will host the qualifying event in Ismailia, with matches scheduled to take place from 21 September to 6 October.

Abdel Monsef replaces Ibrahim Abdel Gawad, who left the position some time ago. Former Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary has been responsible for the goalkeeping department across the national teams on an interim basis while the Egyptian Football Association waited for Abdel Monsef to take up the role.

The appointment marks another step in Abdel Monsef’s coaching career. Since ending his playing career in 2022, he has worked as a goalkeeping coach with Zamalek, Ismaily, Ghazl El Mahalla and, most recently, National Bank of Egypt.

Abdel Monsef had a long playing career in Egyptian football and holds the record for the highest number of consecutive seasons played in the competition, having appeared across 26 seasons.

He is also second in the list of players with the most appearances in the Egyptian Premier League. The only player above him is Abdullah El Said, who currently plays for Zamalek.

Egypt’s campaign begins against Libya on 24 September. The hosts will then sit out the second round of matches before returning to action against Tunisia in the third round on 30 September.

Their fourth-round fixture will be against Morocco on 3 October, with the qualifying campaign ending against Algeria on 6 October.

The tournament in Ismailia will therefore provide Abdel Monsef with his first major assignment in charge of Egypt’s youth goalkeepers. His appointment follows a period in which the role was covered temporarily by El Hadary after Abdel Gawad’s departure.

Egypt’s results in the North Africa qualifiers will determine their progress towards the Africa Cup of Nations youth tournament. The national side will have five scheduled fixtures in the competition, although its absence from the second round means the matches will be spread across the tournament period from 21 September to 6 October.