The Egyptian youth national team, born in 2009, departed from Cairo International Airport on Tuesday at 11 am to participate in the International Friendship Tournament in Switzerland. The tournament will take place from September 24 to October 3. The team's journey to Switzerland took approximately four hours, and they arrived at the Swiss capital, Geneva, at 3 pm Cairo time. The team will head directly to their accommodation, where they will rest and undergo a recovery session.
The Egyptian Football Association, led by Hani Abou Rida, has entrusted Dr. Walid Darwish, a member of the board, to lead the team's delegation during their trip to Switzerland. The team's technical staff, led by Hussein Abdel Latif, has selected 22 players for the tournament. The team's goalkeepers are Malek Amr, Mohamed Obeid, and Abdel Aziz Mahmoud. The defenders include Mohamed El-Sayed, Adam Youssef, Adel Alla, Mohamed Sabri, Amir Hassan, and Abdullah Amr.
The team's midfielders are Ahmed Bashir, Mohand Magdi, Omar Abdel Rahim, Seif Karim, Youssef Abdullah, Mohamed Gamal, Daniel Tamer, Zeiad Saudi, Ahmed Safwat, and Adham Haseeb. The forwards include Khaled Moukhtar, Amir Abu El-Az, and Khaled Mahmoud. The team's primary objective is to gain the maximum possible technical benefit for the technical staff and players through interaction with different football schools.
The team will face strong opponents in the tournament, including South Korea, England, and Colombia, which will provide Egyptian players with more experience before participating in the Qatar Youth World Cup in November. The technical staff aims to use the tournament matches to assess the technical and physical level of the players objectively and make the final list for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
The team's coach, Hussein Abdel Latif, met with the players before training and urged them to make the most of the opportunity and exert effort in the International Friendship Tournament to win a spot in the final list for the Youth World Cup. The team's players have been in a closed camp since September 7 and have played several friendly matches against strong teams.
The International Friendship Tournament in Switzerland features eight teams, and Egypt is in Group A with South Korea, England, and Colombia. Group B includes Brazil, Spain, Canada, and Côte d'Ivoire. Egypt's matches in the tournament are as follows: Egypt vs. South Korea on September 24 at 12:30 pm, Egypt vs. England on September 27 at 4 pm, and Egypt vs. Colombia on September 30 at 12 pm.
Shouqi Gharib, the technical director of the Egyptian Football Association, expressed his confidence in the team's abilities and its potential to reach the finals in both the Friendship Tournament and the upcoming Gulf Cup. He also praised Hani Abou Rida, the association's president, for providing all the necessary support for the team. Dr. Walid Darwish stated that the association's board, led by Abou Rida, is committed to providing all means of success for this generation.
Key points
- Egypt's 2009 youth national team participates in the International Friendship Tournament in Switzerland to gain experience before the Qatar Youth World Cup.
- The team faces strong opponents, including South Korea, England, and Colombia, in the tournament.
- The team's technical staff aims to assess the players' technical and physical levels and make the final list for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
