The youth national team defeats Libya 1-0 in the first half of the North African qualifiers.
The Egypt U-20 national team, coached by Wael Riad, finished the first half leading their Libyan counterparts, managed by Egyptian coach Badr Hamid, by a single goal in their opening match of the North Africa U-20 qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mohamed Awad scored the goal for Egypt in the 19th minute of the match, which is currently taking place at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia.
The match saw Egypt's youth player, Mohamed Raafat, receive a red card in the 18th minute, but the national team managed to score the leading goal just one minute later.
The lineup was as follows:
Goalkeeper: Omar Abdel Aziz.
Defenders: Mohamed Awad, Nour Ashraf, Iyad Medhat, and Mohannad El-Shami.
The match between Egypt and Libya kicked off at 8 PM on Thursday, September 24, 2026, and was broadcast live on the free "On Sport" channels. The national team will face three more tough matches against Tunisia on September 30, Morocco on October 3, and conclude the competition with a match against Algeria on October 6.
The youth team entered the tournament with a squad rich in young and promising talents, including: Iyad Tamer, Omar Abdel Aziz, Youssef Al-Bashir, Iyad Medhat, Mohamed Abdel Basir, Nour Ashraf, Abdullah Bdeir, Hamza El-Dajwi, Mohamed Awad, Mohamed Farag, Mohannad El-Shami, Omar El-Amin, Mohamed Samir Konta, Omar Tharwat, Mohamed Raafat, Jonas El-Mallah, Yassin Atef, Omar El-Azab, Mohamed Hamad, Adham Karim, Mahmoud Salah, Anas Rushdi, Mohamed Haytham, Ali El-Garhy, and Mohamed Abdel Fattah Taha.
Five teams are participating in the North Africa U-20 qualifiers: host Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, with only the top two teams qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.
