Mahmoud Salah named best player as Egypt win North Africa Youth Championship

Mahmoud Salah of Egypt’s youth team has been named the best player of the North Africa Youth Championship after helping his side win the title and qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.

The tournament finals were held in Ismailia, where Egypt secured their fourth title in the competition after previous triumphs in 2006, 2008 and 2012.

Salah, an Al Ahly forward, scored in Egypt’s 2-0 victory over Algeria and provided an assist in their 2-1 win against Tunisia. He missed the match against Libya because of injury, came on as a substitute against Tunisia and Morocco, and started the final game against Algeria.

Egypt began their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Libya before beating Tunisia 2-1. They then lost 2-0 to Morocco but responded with a 2-0 win against Algeria in the final round.

Those results left Egypt top of the table with nine points, two ahead of Morocco, who finished second and also qualified for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations for youth teams.

Algeria ended the tournament in third place with four points, ahead of Libya on goal difference. Tunisia finished bottom with three points.

The success marks Egypt’s first North Africa title since 2012. They finished third in the 2023 edition and runners-up in 2024.

Egypt have now qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana for a third successive edition and for the 20th time overall.

The championship is also the first title of Wael Riyad’s managerial career.