The Egyptian and Moroccan national teams advanced to the finals of the African U-20 Football Cup of Nations, which will be held in Ghana next year 2027.
The Egyptian national team advanced following a 2-0 victory over Algeria at the conclusion of the North African Championship, which was held in the Egyptian city of Ismailia.
Mahmoud Salah and Anas Rushdi scored the goals of the Egyptian team in the 22nd and 82nd minutes of the match that was held at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia.
At the same time, the Libyan national team won 3-2 over its Moroccan counterpart, the World Cup holder in this Sunni stage, in a match held at the Ismailia Stadium.
The Moroccan national team took the lead with a goal by Khaled Qasimi in the 18th minute, and its Libyan counterpart responded with a hat-trick by Musa Ibrahim, Abderrahmane Makari from a penalty kick, and Jaafar Abu Latifa in the 30th, 36th and 67th minutes.
The Moroccans reduced the gap with a second goal scored by Moncef Mohamed in the 79th minute.
With these results, the Egyptian national team raises its score to 9 points at the top of the North African qualifiers, and wins the championship cup, followed by the Moroccan national team with 7 points, to advance together to the Nations Cup that qualifies for the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
On the other hand, the Algerian national team's balance froze at 4 points, remaining in third place, ahead of Libya on goal difference, while the Tunisia national team is at the bottom of the standings with 3 points.
Following Egypt's victory over Algeria, a coronation ceremony was held, with the Pharaohs receiving the championship cup and the gold medal, and the Moroccan national team receiving the silver medal for second place.
Individual awards were also handed out, as Mahmoud Salah, the Egyptian Al-Ahly and Egyptian national team striker, won the best player award in the tournament, while Moroccan Shoaib Belarouche, the French player of Reims, won the best goalkeeper award.
The Moroccan team also won the Sportsmanship Award.
For his part, Wael Riad, the coach of the Egyptian national team, said after the coronation ceremony: “Congratulations to the fans, players and the Football Association, after hard work and effort. My feeling of happiness cannot be described.”
He added in television statements: “In this tournament, we played 4 African finals. These are not matches, but finals. Our main goal was to qualify for the Nations Cup, and winning the North African Championship Cup was a reward for us.”
Wael Riad sent a message to the Egyptian fans about the need to be present in the stands to support this young generation, and also to export fear to the competitors, adding that it is necessary to take advantage of the good condition of the Egyptian national team in the 2026 World Cup under the leadership of coach Hossam Hassan.
The Lebanese junior national team (under 17 years old) was crowned champion of the West Asian Federation Junior Championship in its thirteenth edition, after defeating its Yemeni counterpart on penalty kicks 4-3, after regular time ended in a goalless draw, in the final match that brought them together, on Monday evening, at Aqaba Stadium in Jordan.
The first half was equal between the two teams, with a similar percentage of possession and an exchange of offensive attempts. The Lebanese national team maintained its defensive discipline in the face of Yemeni attacks, while trying to reach the goal on more than one occasion, but its attempts did not translate into goals.
The half also witnessed a number of Yemeni attempts, which the Lebanese defense dealt with successfully, while others went outside the three goals, ending the first half without goals.
The balance continued in the second half, as the two teams exchanged possession and attacks, with each of them having a relative advantage in different periods of the match. The two sides sought to snatch the decisive goal, but the mutual attempts did not bear fruit, so the goalless tie remained until the end of regular time, and a penalty shootout was decided to determine the identity of the champion, for the second time for the Lebanese team after the semi-final against Jordan.
In the penalty shootout, the Lebanese national team succeeded in resolving the confrontation with a score of 4-3, winning the title of the thirteenth edition of the West Asian Federation Junior Championship, confirming its presence in the final match for the second time in a row, and achieving a new achievement for Lebanese football at the level of age group teams.
Secretary-General of the West Asian Football Federation, Khalil Al-Salem, and Secretary-General of the Lebanese Football Association, Jihad Al-Shahf, took turns distributing medals, while Al-Shahf handed the championship cup to the captain of the Lebanese national team, Mohamed Madi. Goalkeeper Mahdi Mekki was also crowned the best goalkeeper in the tournament.
The Lebanese national team was represented in the match by: goalkeeper Mehdi Mekki and players Ralph Emad, Mohamed Madi, Omar Dalal, Jawad Maslamani, Mohamed Shahoud, Mohamed Hamiyeh, Sari Hanoun (Jad Barouk 90+3), Malek Maarkash, Jad Al-Zoubi, and Ibrahim Farshoukh (Hussein Kurdi 72).
