RABAT — The Egyptian U-17 national team has completed its final preparations for a tough CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Côte d’Ivoire, scheduled for 10:00 pm Cairo local time on Sunday in Morocco. The team has already locked in a spot at this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, which runs from November 19 to December 13, after reaching the quarter-finals of the African championship. Head coach Hussein Abdel-Latif is fully focused on the knockout tie. The Young Pharaohs are fired up to maintain their strong run going and push further into the tournament. Egypt grabbed their World Cup ticket by finishing second in Group A. They collected four points, just behind Morocco, who had seven. They played to a goalless draw with Ethiopia, secured a 2–1 win over Tunisia, and lost 2–1 to Morocco in their last group game. Abdel Latif, after the third-round match against Morocco, said the 2-1 loss did not really reflect how his team played. He believed his players controlled large stretches of the match, but defensive mistakes in the first half made all the difference as they conceded two goals. There are 16 teams in the tournament, split into four groups. The top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals and secure an automatic World Cup ticket. Two more places get decided via play-offs between the third-placed teams. In Group B, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon both reached the quarter-finals. Côte d’Ivoire finished top with seven points, while Cameroon took second place on six. Tanzania also progressed from Group C. Egypt, alongside Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Mali and Algeria, all reached the quarter-finals. The post Young Pharaohs chase AFCON glory after WC spot appeared first on Egyptian Gazette.
