Egypt's Youth Football Shake-Up: Osama Nabih to be Succeeded as U-20 Coach, Shawky Ghareeb Emerges
22 October 2025
Overview
The Egyptian Football Association's technical committee met today to discuss the future of the Under-20 team after their World Cup campaign in Chile.
Egypt were eliminated in the group stage, opening with a 0-2 defeat to Japan, followed by a 2-1 loss to New Zealand, and finishing with a 2-1 win over Chile. With identical points, goal difference, and goals scored, Chile advanced on fair-play criteria.
Egypt collected seven yellow cards to Chile's five; assistant coach Alaa Abdu and administrator Hamada Anwar were cautioned during the campaign.
Coaching evaluation and proposed changes
The technical committee, chaired by Hani Abu Rida and including Mohsen Saleh, Ali Abu-Gharisha, Mohamed Omar, Helmy Toulani, Hassan Farid, and Ahmed Hassan, reviewed the head coach Osama Nabih's report on the World Cup campaign. Absent were Hassan Shahat and Abdel-Zaher El-Saqqa due to illness.
They cited factors behind the failure, including reliance on the fair-play criterion and several players not regularly featuring for their clubs. The panel recommended Nabih step aside and urged forming a new Olympic-age team for Los Angeles 2028, with clear criteria for selecting the staff after the youth project ends.
Clubs were urged to consider the interests of this generation to secure a better future at both Olympic and national levels.
Return of Mikali and candidates
The board is expected to endorse the committee's recommendation to part ways with Nabih and thank the entire coaching staff.
The leading candidate to replace Nabih is Shawky Ghareeb, who previously guided Egypt's Olympic team to Tokyo 2020 and won the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations; Ghareeb is currently unattached after leaving Al-Merrikh.
There are reservations about reappointing Brazilian Rogério Mikali due to technical concerns and salary, while other candidates being discussed include Tariq Mustafa and Ahmed Sami. The preference remains for an Egyptian coach rather than a foreign hire.
Olympic qualifiers and the wider context
CAF has not yet announced official dates for the Olympic qualifiers. Only the champion and runner-up are expected to earn slots for Los Angeles 2028, reflecting CAF's plan to reduce the number of participating teams.
Egypt's Olympic history dates back to 1920 and 1964, with appearances in 1984, 1992, 2012, 2020, and 2024. The committee's long-term plan envisions periodic camps in Egypt and abroad, a full restructuring of the youth setup, and a unified talent-identification program coordinated with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, focusing on physical and psychological readiness.
Efforts will also pursue standardized scouting across clubs and youth centers to build a steady pipeline for both Olympic and national squads.
Punchlines: If coaching were an archery contest, this plan would be a bullseye—sometimes the target moves, but the quiver stays loaded. And remember: in youth football, patience isn’t just a virtue, it’s a training drill with better snacks at the end."
