Egypt Under-17s took a major step towards reaching the Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 finals with a 1-0 victory over Morocco in the second round of the North Africa qualifiers.
The match was played at the Olympic Stadium in Sousse, Tunisia, where Egypt secured their second consecutive win in the competition.
Youssef Ali scored the decisive goal in the 11th minute with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. His strike came shortly after Mohamed Mostafa “Costa” had missed a penalty, awarded by Algerian referee Mohamed Rafik Aouina after a foul on Omar Shaboun.
The result leaves Egypt top of the qualifying standings with six points from two matches, giving head coach Abdel Sattar Sabry’s side a perfect start.
Egypt opened their campaign with victory over Tunisia before overcoming Morocco, and now sit in a strong position in the race for one of the two available places at the finals.
Their win against Morocco also saw them overcome one of their direct rivals before their final qualifying fixture, which is expected to play a significant role in determining the teams that progress.
Tunisia strengthened their own challenge with a heavy victory over Algeria in the other second-round match. The result kept both Tunisia and Algeria in contention for qualification.
Algeria had begun the tournament by beating Morocco, meaning the qualification calculations remain open despite Egypt’s six-point lead at the top of the table.
Egypt will face Algeria on Monday in their final match of the qualifiers. They will be looking to maintain their advantage and finish the campaign with another positive result to boost their chances of reaching the continental finals.
The fixture is particularly important for Algeria, who need to recover from their defeat by Tunisia and keep alive their hopes of claiming one of the two qualification places.
The North Africa qualifiers feature Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia after Libya withdrew from the competition. The top two teams will qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 finals, which are scheduled to be held in Morocco.
Egypt will hope their strong opening can carry them through the final round and secure qualification.
