Preview: Egypt's U-23 team to kick off Africa Cup of Nations campaign with eyes on Paris Olympics

Mahmoud Elassal , Saturday 24 Jun 2023

Egypt's Under-23 national team are set to begin their campaign in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations against Niger on Sunday in the first round of Group B games, with their sights set on securing a place in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

File Photo: Egyptian Olympic football team Defender Osama Galal in action during the match with Ghana. Photo courtesy of EFA Facebook page.

Egypt, the current U-23 African Cup of Nations title holders, have been drawn with Mali, Gabon and Niger in Group B.

Morocco, the tournament host, have been drawn with Ghana, Congo and Guinea in Group A.

Morocco are scheduled to take on Guinea in the first game of the tournament at Complexe Sportif Moulay Abdallah late on Saturday.

The top three teams from the tournament, which runs 24 June to 8 July, will represent Africa at the Olympics.

Egypt's coach, Rogerio Micale, expressed confidence in his team's ability to meet the expectations of Egyptian fans and make a strong impression in the tournament.

"We have a convincing squad with brave players, and we are looking to achieve the fans' dream of going far in the tournament," he said.

Micale also acknowledged the difficulty of the championship and emphasized that his team is well-prepared and has studied their opponents.

"We watched the previous games of Niger and we respect them, but at the same time, we ask the Egyptian fans to be patient and have confidence in the players," he added.

The 23-man squad for the tournament includes the talented Pyramids FC winger Ibrahim Adel, Ahly forward Ahmed Nabil Kouka, and National Bank of Egypt striker Osama Faisal.

The U-23 Africa Cup of Nations is a quadrennial African football tournament organized by CAF for its nations, consisting of players under 23 years of age.

While qualification tournaments for the Olympic Games football tournament for African teams have been held on a home-and-away basis since 1956, a full-time standalone qualification tournament was formed in 2011 and named the African U-23 Championship.

The CAF Executive Committee changed the tournament's name to the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in 2015, similar to the senior's version, Africa Cup of Nations. The title was won by Gabon in 2011, Nigeria in 2015 and Egypt in 2019.

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