Egypt national under-23 football team

The Egypt national under-23 football team (Arabic: منتخب مصر الأوليمبى), sometimes called the Egypt Olympic Team, nicknamed The Pharaohs (Arabic: الفراعنة), is the national team of Egypt Under-23 and is administered by the Egyptian Football Association. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations and Olympic Games. As of Paris 2024, players need to be born on or after 1 January 2001 to participate but the team may be supplemented with 3 over-age players.

Egypt U-23

Nickname(s)	الفراعنة (The Pharaohs)
Association	Egyptian Football Association
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNAF (North Africa)
Head coach	Rogério Micale
Home stadium	Cairo International Stadium
FIFA code	EGY
First colours Second colours
Olympic Games
Appearances	13 (first in 1920)
Best result	Fourth Place (1928, 1964)
Africa U-23 Cup of Nations
Appearances	4 (first in 2011)
Best result	Champions (2019)
African Games
Appearances	7 (first in 1973)
Best result	Gold medalist (1987, 1995)

The team has played at the Olympic Games 13 times, with four of these being after the tournament became age capped. They're also the top-medalist at the U-23 African Cup.

History

Egypt's first ever appearance in football was in Antwerp 1920 where they played one match against Italy. This was the first official international match for the Pharaohs as they lost 2–1 on August 20, 1920. Egypt would later qualify for 9 straight tournaments from 1920 to 1964. With their best result achieved being Fourth Place in Amsterdam 1928 and Tokyo 1964, this means that Egypt is the best team that never won a medal at the Olympics (most 4th-place finishes without a higher finish).

Egypt has had limited success since 1992, when the tournament first became locked for U-23 players. Egypt qualified to the 2012 Olympics after beating Senegal in the Bronze Metal Match. In the Olympics, they placed second in their group after a loss against Brazil, a draw with New Zealand and a win against Belarus. Their run was abruptly stopped by a 3-0 loss to Japan in the quarterfinals. They missed out on Rio 2016 but reached Tokyo 2020 as African Champions after winning the U-23 tournament at home. They placed second in their group after a nil-nil draw with European Champions Spain, a loss against South American Champions Argentina and a 2-0 win against Australia. They lost 1-0 at the quarterfinals to eventual gold-medalist Brazil.

Egypt qualified for the 2024 tournament after placing second in the 2023 U-23 African Cup. This marks the first time they play in successive tournaments since Tokyo 1964.

Results and fixtures

Legend  Win

  Draw   Lose   Fixture

2022

Egypt v Benin

23 September 2022 (2022-09-23) International Friendly	Egypt	0–0	Benin	Alexandria, Egypt
15:00 (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Haras El Hodoud Stadium Referee: Mahmoud Bassiouny (Egypt)

Egypt v Benin

26 September 2022 (2022-09-26) International Friendly	Egypt	2–0	Benin	Alexandria, Egypt
18:00 (UTC+2)	Eyad El Askalany 3' Islam Al Mazayen 53'	Report		Stadium: Haras El Hodoud Stadium Referee: Sobhy El Amrawi (Egypt)

Eswatini v Egypt

23 October 2022 (2022-10-23) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification Second round	Eswatini	0–0	Egypt	Lobamba, Eswatini
15:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)

Egypt v Eswatini

30 October 2022 (2022-10-30) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification Second round	Egypt	1–0	Eswatini	Alexandria
20:00 UTC+2	Faisal 70'	Report		Stadium: Alexandria Stadium Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Morocco v Egypt

17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) International Friendly	Morocco	2–3	Egypt	Rabat, Morocco
16:00 UTC±0	Montasser Lahtimi 30' Yassin Oukili	Report	Mostafa Saad 7' Muhammad Tarek 40' Mohamed Shehata 60'

Morocco v Egypt

20 November 2022 (2022-11-20) International Friendly	Morocco	1–2	Egypt	Rabat, Morocco
15:00 UTC±0		Report	Mahmoud Saber 22', 75'

2023

Egypt v Gabon

3 February 2023 (2023-02-03) International Friendly	Egypt	3–0	Gabon	Cairo, Egypt
18:00 (UTC+2)	Mahmoud Saber 35' Osama Faisal 62' Ibrahim Adel 70'	Report		Stadium: 30 June Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Nour El Din (Egypt)

Egypt v Sudan

18 March 2023 (2023-03-18) International Friendly	Egypt	1-0	Sudan	Cairo, Egypt
18:00 (UTC+2)	Mostafa Saad 41'	Report		Stadium: Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium Referee: Ahmed El Ghandour (Egypt)

Egypt v Zambia

22 March 2023 (2023-03-22) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification Third round	Egypt	2-0	Zambia	Cairo, Egypt
18:00 UTC+2	Ibrahim Adel 73' Abdel Rahman Atef 88'	Report		Stadium: 30 June Stadium Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)

Zambia v Egypt

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification Third round	Zambia	0-0	Egypt	Ndola, Zambia
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium Referee: Jeannot Franck Bito (Cameroon)

Egypt v Congo

30 April 2023 (2023-04-30) International Friendly	Egypt	2–0	Congo	Alexandria, Egypt
18:00 (UTC+3)	Osama Faisal 47', 64'	Report		Stadium: Alexandria Stadium Referee: Mahmoud El Banna (Egypt)

Egypt v Ghana

15 June 2023 (2023-06-15) International Friendly	Egypt	1–1	Ghana	Alexandria, Egypt
18:00 (UTC+3)	Ibrahim Adel 38'	Report	Daniel Afriyie 9' (pen.)	Stadium: Alexandria Stadium Referee: Tarek Magdy (Egypt)

Egypt v Congo

20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) International Friendly	Egypt	0–0	Congo	Rabat, Morocco
18:00 (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium

Egypt v Niger

25 June 2023 (2023-06-25) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations Group B	Egypt	0–0	Niger	Tangier, Morocco
18:00 CAT (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Ibn Batouta Stadium, Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)

Egypt v Mali

28 June 2023 (2023-06-28) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations Group B	Egypt	1–0	Mali	Tangier, Morocco
18:00 CAT (UTC+1)	Ibrahim Adel 10'	Report		Stadium: Ibn Batouta Stadium, Referee: Lamin Jammeh (Gambia)

Gabon v Egypt

1 July 2023 (2023-07-01) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations Group B	Gabon	0–2	Egypt	Tangier, Morocco
21:00 CAT (UTC+1)		Report	Mahmoud Saber 82' Osama Faisal 90+2' (pen.)	Stadium: Ibn Batouta Stadium, Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)

Egypt v Guinea

4 July 2023 (2023-07-04) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations Semi-final	Egypt	1–0	Guinea	Tangier, Morocco
18:00 CAT (UTC+1)	Mohamed Shehata 8'	Report		Stadium: Ibn Batouta Stadium, Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)

Morocco v Egypt

8 July 2023 (2023-07-08) 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations Final	Morocco	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Egypt	Rabat, Morocco
21:00 CAT (UTC+1)	Yanis Begraoui 37' Oussama Targhalline 105+3'	Report	Mahmoud Saber 10'	Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)

Egypt v Russia

7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) Hybrid friendly	Egypt	1–1	Russia	Suez, Egypt
19:00 (UTC+3)	Bilal Mazhar 7'	Report	Stepan Oganesyan 46'	Stadium: Suez Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Nour El Din (Egypt)

Egypt v Russia

11 September 2023 (2023-09-11) Hybrid friendly	Egypt	2–1	Russia	Suez, Egypt
19:00 (UTC+3)	Kirill Kravtsov 68' (o.g.) Arabi Badr 72'	Report	Sergei Pinyayev 8' (pen.)	Stadium: Suez Stadium Referee: Hamada Al Qalawi (Egypt)

Egypt v Jordan

12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) International Friendly	Egypt	3–1	Jordan	Cairo, Egypt
21:00 (UTC+3)	Hossam Abdel Maguid 6' Mohamed Hamdi 41' Faisal Abu Shanab 90+1' (o.g.)	Report	Laith Abu Rahal 88'	Stadium: Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium Referee: Ahmed El Ghandour (Egypt)

Uzbekistan v Egypt

16 October 2023 (2023-10-16) International Friendly	Uzbekistan	1–2	Egypt	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
19:00 UTC+5	Alisher Odilov 26'	Report	Bilal Mazhar 73' Zyad Farag 89'	Stadium: Milliy Stadium Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)

2024

Egypt v Qatar

17 January 2024 (2024-01-17) International Friendly	Egypt	0–0	Qatar	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
17:00 UTC+4		Report		Stadium: Shahama Stadium

Egypt v Iraq

20 January 2024 (2024-01-20) International Friendly	Egypt	0–1	Iraq	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:30 UTC+4		Report	Halo Fayaq 90+8'	Stadium: UAE Football Association Stadium

Egypt v Saudi Arabia

23 January 2024 (2024-01-23) International Friendly	Egypt	1–2	Saudi Arabia	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
16:00 UTC+4	Osama Faisal 10'	Report	Saleh Aboulshamat 48' (pen.) Abdulmalik Al-Jaber 86'	Stadium: UAE Football Association Stadium

United Arab Emirates v Egypt

27 January 2024 (2024-01-27) International Friendly	United Arab Emirates	1–5	Egypt	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
16:00 UTC+4	Khamis Al-Mansoori 72'	Report	Mohammed Al-Maazmi 15' (o.g.) Mahmoud Saber 40 , 57' Mohamed Shehata 48' Osama Faisal 52' (pen.)	Stadium: UAE Football Association Stadium

Egypt v United Arab Emirates

20 March 2024 (2024-03-20) WAFF U-23 Championship GS	Egypt	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
23:00 UTC+3	Bilal Mazhar 81'	Report		Stadium: Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Referee: Abdullah Al Shehri (Saudi Arabia)

Australia v Egypt

Egypt v Saudi Arabia

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Ghana and Congo on 15 , 20 June and the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations between 24 June and 8 July 2023.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
	1GK	Hamza Alaa	(2001-03-01) 1 March 2001	Al Ahly
	1GK	Ali El Gabry	(2001-02-14) 14 February 2001	Ceramica Cleopatra
	1GK	Mohamed Seha	(2001-05-01) 1 May 2001	Al Mokawloon Al Arab
	2DF	Hossam Abdelmaguid	(2001-04-30) 30 April 2001	Zamalek
	2DF	Mohamed Ashraf	(2001-10-01) 1 October 2001	Al Ahly
	2DF	Ahmed Eid	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001	ENPPI
	2DF	Mohamed El Maghrabi	(2001-04-28) 28 April 2001	Smouha
	2DF	Hatem Mohamed	(2001-10-26) 26 October 2001	Zamalek
	2DF	Mohamed Samir	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001	Tala'ea El Gaish
	2DF	Mohamed Tarek	(2002-04-20) 20 April 2002	Zamalek
	2DF	Omar Fayed	(2003-07-04) 4 July 2003	Novi Pazar
	3MF	Ahmed Fawzi	(2002-05-23) 23 May 2002	Al Mokawloon Al Arab
	3MF	Mahmoud Gehad	(2001-08-20) 20 August 2001	Pharco
	3MF	Ahmed Koka	(2001-07-04) 4 July 2001	Al Ahly
	3MF	Mahmoud Saber	(2001-07-30) 30 July 2001	Pyramids
	3MF	Mohamed Shehata	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001	Tala'ea El Gaish
	3MF	Ali Zazaa	(2001-06-23) 23 June 2001	Future
	4FW	Ibrahim Adel	(2001-04-23) 23 April 2001	Pyramids
	4FW	Abdelrahman Atef	(2001-06-04) 4 June 2001	Ghazl El Mahalla
	4FW	Ahmed Atef	(2002-12-19) 19 December 2002	Al Mokawloon Al Arab
	4FW	Osama Faisal	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001	National Bank of Egypt
	4FW	Emad Mayhoub	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001	ENPPI
	4FW	Mostafa Saad	(2001-08-22) 22 August 2001	Smouha

Previous squads

• 1920 Summer Olympics squad
• 1924 Summer Olympics squad
• 1928 Summer Olympics squad
• 1936 Summer Olympics squad
• 1948 Summer Olympics squad
• 1952 Summer Olympics squad
• 1960 Summer Olympics squad
• 1964 Summer Olympics squad
• 1984 Summer Olympics squad
• 1992 Summer Olympics squad
• 2012 Summer Olympics squad
• 2020 Summer Olympics squad

Overage players in Olympic Games

Tournament	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
2012	Ahmed Fathy (DF)	Mohamed Aboutrika (MF)	Emad Moteab (FW)
2020	Mohamed El Shenawy (GK)	Ahmed Hegazi (DF)	Mahmoud Hamdy (DF)

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Appearances: 13								Qualified : 15
Year/Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
Athens 1896	No football tournament
Paris 1900 - Stockholm 1912	Did Not Participate
Antwerp 1920	First round	1	0	0	1	1	2	No Qualification
Paris 1924	Quarter-final	2	1	0	1	3	5
Amsterdam 1928	Fourth Place	4	2	0	2	12	19
Los Angeles 1932	No football tournament
Berlin 1936	First Round	1	0	0	1	1	3	No Qualification
London 1948	First Round	1	0	0	1	1	3
Helsinki 1952	First Round	2	1	0	1	6	7
Melbourne 1956	Withdrew from Finals							2	2	0	0	9	3
Roma 1960	First Round	3	0	1	2	4	11	4	3	0	1	11	5
Tokyo 1964	Fourth Place	6	2	1	3	18	16	4	3	1	0	14	6
Mexico 1968	Withdrew from Qualifiers
Munich 1972	Did not qualify							2	1	0	1	2	3
Montreal 1976								2	0	1	1	1	2
Moscow 1980	Withdrew from Finals							4	1	3	0	7	4
Los Angeles 1984	Quarter-final	4	1	1	2	5	5	6	3	2	1	6	3
Seoul 1988	Did not qualify							4	2	1	1	7	2
Barcelona 1992	First Round	3	1	0	2	5	6	6	4	2	0	11	3
Atlanta 1996	Did not qualify							4	2	1	1	5	4
Sydney 2000								8	4	3	1	15	9
Athens 2004								6	0	0	6	1	13
Beijing 2008								4	1	2	1	6	4
London 2012	Quarter-final	4	1	1	2	6	8	9	5	1	3	12	6
Rio de Janeiro 2016	Did not qualify							1	1	0	0	4	0
Tokyo 2020	Quarter-final	4	1	1	2	2	2	5	5	0	0	11	4
Paris 2024	Qualified
Total	4/9	11	3	2	6	13	16	42	21	9	12	65	43

• Prior to the 1992 Olympic Games campaign, the Olympic football tournament was open to full senior national teams.
• Egypt withdrew from the 1956 Football tournament and boycotted the 1980 Olympics after qualifying for both.

Africa U-23 Cup of Nations

Africa U-23 Cup of Nations record
Appearances: 4
Year/Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
Morocco 2011	Bronze Medal	5	3	0	2	7	4
Senegal 2015	Group Stage	3	0	2	1	3	4
Egypt 2019	Champions	5	5	0	0	11	4
Morocco 2023	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	5	2
Total	4/4	18	11	3	4	26	14

African Games

African Games record
Appearances: 7
Year/Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
Brazzaville 1965	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lagos 1973	Bronze Medal	5	3	0	2	12	12
Algiers 1978	Withdrew after Round 1	3	2	1	0	6	2
Nairobi 1987	Gold Medal	5	3	1	1	7	5
Cairo 1991	Fifth Place	4	1	1	2	5	6
Harare 1995	Gold Medal	5	4	0	1	8	3
Johannesburg 1999	Didn't qualify
Abuja 2003	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	2	6
Algiers 2007	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	4	8
Maputo 2011	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-
Brazzaville 2015	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	7/11	28	13	3	12	44	39

• Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the All-Africa Games was open to full senior national teams

See also

• Sport in Egypt
• Football in Egypt
• Egypt national football team
• Egypt national under-20 football team
• Egypt national under-17 football team
• Egypt national futsal team
• Egypt national beach soccer team