After an incredible 10 days of squash, we’ve reached the final of the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Championships in Nancy, France!

Play begins at 14:00 and will be streamed live on the WSF YouTube Channel, the Olympic Channel, Sportall and other streaming partners, with commentary available in both English and French.

If No.2 seeds England are to win their first title since 2000 and avenge their defeat to Egypt in the 2018 final, they will have to overcome the most successful team in the tournament’s history. The Top seeds and defending champions will be looking to add to their well-stocked trophy case and have won four of the last five titles and have appeared in every final since 2004.

A look at the head-to-head record may instil confidence in the top seeds, with Egypt enjoying a 7-4 head-to-head record and winning the last five ties, with the last tie a 2-0 victory in the Chennai 2018 final.

Of the current lineup, only Karim El Torkey and Finnlay Withington have met before, with El Torkey recording a 3-0 win over Withington in the third round of the 2020 British Junior U17 Open.

Both sides have been in dominant form in the teams format, with neither Egypt nor England dropping a match until the semi-finals.

Egypt recorded 2-0 wins over New Zealand, Colombia and the USA before battling through an intense semi-final against No.3 seeds Pakistan yesterday, with 14-year-old Mohamed Zakaria – who will be the youngest player on record to compete in the final – getting Egypt over the line with a dramatic 3-1 win in the final match of their tie. The Egypt No.3 was in a confident mood after his win, telling WSF media: “We’re going to win this tomorrow!”

England, meanwhile, began their campaign with 2-0 wins against Australia, Korea, Kuwait and the Netherlands, before they stifled a fightback from No.4 seeds Malaysia in the semi-final, with an in-form Jonah Bryant coming in with the tie at 1-1 to deliver an 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 victory over Harith Danial Jefri.

Schedule: 2022 WSF Men’s World Junior Team Championship, final (21 August)

14:00 [1] EGYPT v [2] ENGLAND

Lineups:
Karim El Torkey v Finnlay Withington
Salman Khalil v Jonah Bryant
Mohamed Zakaria v Sam Osborne-Wylde