Algeria and Tunisia begin UNAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying

Algeria and Tunisia will launch their qualifying campaigns for the UNAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations when they meet at the Canal Suez Stadium in Suez, Egypt, on Thursday.

The match will kick off at 17:30 local time (GMT+2), which is 16:30 in France and 15:30 in Algeria and Tunisia. It will be available to watch live on the official UNAF YouTube channel.

The other fixture on the opening day sees Egypt face Libya, while Morocco are the team exempt from this round of matches.

Five nations – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia – are competing in a single league table across five rounds. One team will not play on each matchday, with the top two sides qualifying for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to take place in Ghana in 2027.

Algeria under new head coach

Algeria’s U20 team will be led by Hocine El Orfi, who was appointed head coach after working as Rezik Nedder’s assistant for a year.

He also served under Brahim Hemdani when Algeria’s U21 side won the Jeux Mediterraneens last month. El Orfi will be assisted by former international Yacine Bezzaz, 45, who recently earned his CAF A coaching diploma.

The Algeria squad includes six players from the Jeux Mediterraneens-winning team, among them Youcef Izem, Houssem Tarzout and Houssem Alla Eddine Abdelaziz.

Rennes forward Mohamed Valmy is also included. He is only 16 and has been selected despite being younger than the other players in the squad. Lens winger Mohamed Seddik and Oussam Benkou of AS Saint-Etienne are also part of the group.

Tunisia are managed by Nabil Trabelsi and have named several players based at European clubs.

Their squad includes goalkeeper Slim Bouasker of AS Rome, Naim Telmoudi of FC Nantes, Wassim El Guerchi of AS Monaco and Benfica forward Anisse Saidi.

Remaining fixtures

After facing Tunisia, Algeria will play Libya on 27 September and Morocco on 30 September before completing their qualifying schedule against Egypt on 6 October.

Tunisia will meet Morocco on 27 September, Egypt on 30 September and Libya on 3 October.

The UNAF qualifying tournament is therefore set to feature four matches for each team, with the two highest-ranked nations earning places at the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.