Egypt U-23 national football team players celebrate victory over Guinea in the semifinals of U-23 Africa Cup of Nations. Photo: Egyptian Football Association facebook page.
Having secured their spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics after beating Guinea 1-0 in the semi-final, the young Pharaohs are now looking to secure their second Africa Cup of Nations title.
Despite a goalless draw with Niger in the first round, Egypt beat Mali and Gabon to advance to the semi-finals, where they secured their victory against Guinea.
Speaking in a press conference, Brazilian coach Micale expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance, saying "I am very happy with the victory and qualification for the 2024 Olympics. This was Egypt's main target from the African Cup of Nations."
Meanwhile, Morocco has enjoyed a strong performance throughout the tournament, winning all their group stage matches against Guinea, Ghana and Congo before defeating Mali in the semi-final.
The top three teams from the tournament, which runs from 24 June to 8 July, will represent Africa at the Olympics.
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.
Gabon won the title in 2011, Nigeria in 2015 and Egypt in 2019.
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