Egypt’s Under-17s target World Cup after historic Africa bronze

Egypt’s 2009-born side will enter the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar with renewed confidence after winning the bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations Under-17, securing the country’s best result in the competition since 1997.

Hussein Abdel Latif’s team impressed during the tournament, beating Cote d’Ivoire 4-1 in the quarter-finals before defeating Morocco 2-0 in the third-place play-off. The result ended Egypt’s 29-year wait for a medal in the age-group competition.

Several players strengthened their reputations during the campaign. Right winger Daniel Tamer was among the standout performers, while Khaled Mokhtar scored twice against Cote d’Ivoire. Ziad Saudi scored against Morocco in the group stage and added another goal against Cote d’Ivoire, while Ahmed Bashir scored in both matches.

Ahmed Safwat was influential in midfield and was named player of the match against Ethiopia. Goalkeeper Mohamed Obeid produced important saves against Morocco and collected the player-of-the-match award in the third-place game. Mohamed Gamal and Amir Abu El Ez also made significant contributions.

Omar Foda operated as a defensive midfielder and helped restore balance between defensive duties and building attacks. His performances added to the belief that Egypt possess a promising group of players before the World Cup.

Route to the African finals

Egypt began their North Africa qualifying campaign in Libya with a 1-0 win over Tunisia, Daniel Tamer “Dani” scoring from the penalty spot in the 15th minute.

They then lost 2-1 to Morocco, placing greater importance on their remaining fixtures. Egypt recovered against hosts Libya, coming from behind to win 2-1. Ahmed Safwat equalised before Mohamed Gamal scored the winner in the second half.

That victory took Egypt to six points and secured qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 before the final match against Algeria. Egypt ended the qualifying campaign with a 1-0 defeat by Algeria, Abd al-Rahman Zawi scoring in the 47th minute, but finished third with six points behind Morocco and Algeria.

At the finals, Egypt drew 0-0 with Ethiopia, beat Tunisia 2-1 through goals from Mohamed Gamal and Amir Abu El Ez, and lost 2-1 to Morocco, with Mohamed El Sayed scoring for Egypt. They finished second in the group with four points and qualified for both the quarter-finals and the World Cup.

The 4-1 victory over Cote d’Ivoire was one of their strongest performances. Egypt’s semi-final against Tanzania finished goalless before Tanzania won the penalty shoot-out 4-3.

Mohamed El Sayed “El Diesel” opened the scoring against Morocco in the 33rd minute of the third-place match, and Ahmed Bashir added a second in the 90+11th minute. Mohamed Obeid helped preserve the clean sheet as Egypt claimed the bronze medal.

The achievement was the second-best in Egypt’s history at the Africa Cup of Nations Under-17, behind their 1997 title.

Questions over squad changes

Despite the success, the omission of several players from subsequent squads has raised questions, particularly because they had featured during qualification and at the African finals before being left out of the International Friendship Tournament in Switzerland and the Gulf Cup.

Omar Foda played four of Egypt’s five matches at the African finals, against Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Ethiopia and Tanzania, totalling 234 minutes. Sofascore rated him 7.0 against Cote d’Ivoire after 45 minutes, 6.6 against Ethiopia in 45 minutes, 6.5 against Morocco in 77 minutes and 6.4 against Tanzania in 67 minutes.

He recovered possession five times against Morocco, four times against Ethiopia and three times in each of the matches against Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania. No opponent dribbled past him in those four games, and he completed his only defensive tackle against both Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco.

Against Ethiopia, Foda won four of six ground duels, a success rate of 67%, and won one aerial duel from two attempts against both Morocco and Tanzania. He completed 12 of 14 passes against Morocco, including two successful long passes from three attempts. Against Tanzania, he completed both of his long-pass attempts, played seven passes into the final third and created one chance.

Although he scored no goals and provided no assists, his statistics showed a strong defensive contribution and an ability to move possession forward.

Al Ahly striker Abdel Aziz Khaled “Ivona” also played three of Egypt’s five matches and was viewed as an attacking option from the bench. He did not score or assist, but was considered a useful tactical solution in the second half of the victories over Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire.

ZED player Baraa Mahmoud Galal was also omitted. He joined ZED from ENPPI about four years ago in a deal worth two million Egyptian pounds. Hussein Abdel Latif previously insisted on selecting him for the African finals despite an injury, but Galal was left out of the World Cup plans after recovering and returning to the starting line-up in league matches.

The eight players who featured at the African finals but were absent from the Gulf Cup and International Friendship Tournament squads were Omar Foda, Seif El Mahdy, Mohamed Nour, Baraa Mahmoud Galal, Yehia Riyad, Youssef Osman, Abdel Aziz Khaled Shaaban and Adham Hussein.

Left-back Abdullah Amr played against Tanzania, Morocco and Tunisia for a total of 154 minutes. He received a 7.0 rating against both Tanzania and Morocco, and 6.7 in the win over Tunisia. He was an unused substitute in the victories over Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco.

The later squads included new names such as Mohamed Mekawy, Ezzat Abdel Moez, Ahmed El Tohamy, Fathy Suleiman, Seif Amir, Adam El Qazzaz, Khaled Mahmoud, Adham Haseeb, Mohamed Sabry and Mohanad Magdy.

Mixed results before Qatar

Egypt’s preparations continued with the International Friendship Tournament in Switzerland, held from 24 September to 3 October 2026.

They drew 2-2 with South Korea and won the resulting penalty shoot-out 4-2, but then lost 2-1 to England and 2-1 to Colombia. In the fifth-place play-off, Canada won 4-2 after Egypt had Mohanad Magdy sent off in the 23rd minute. Egypt finished sixth among the eight participating teams.

The Gulf Cup for Under-17s, beginning on Friday, 16 October, is the final stage of preparation before the World Cup.

The Under-17 World Cup will be held in Qatar from 19 November to 13 December 2026, featuring 48 teams. The final will take place at Khalifa International Stadium on 13 December.

Egypt are in Group A with Qatar, Panama and Greece. They face Greece on 19 November, Qatar on 22 November and Panama on 25 November, with a place in the round of 32 at stake.