Anas Roshdy is a winger for ENPPI SC’s academy and the Egyptian U17 national team. During the U17 Africa Cup of Nations he started all four matches, scoring a brace against South Africa and recording an assist against Burkina Faso. 16-years-old at the time of the tournament, his attacking exploits were not what held his nation back in a notable underperformance, placing third in Group B.
The diminutive (1.72 m) winger primarily plays from the left with surprising strength for his size that competes well with this age level despite his size disadvantage. In addition, Roshdy has a low center of gravity that he uses to his advantage when shielding the ball from pressure to hold up or draw a foul while having superb balance to stay on his feet against most physical duels. Though his pace over long-distances does not make him the most effective progressive carrier, his short-burst acceleration allows him to explode on ball or into challenges on possession loss. This explosiveness also shows aerially, as he leaps quite high for his height to be a competitive aerial dueler that affects headed deliveries with his physical presence when he does not win it. His ability off the volley displays admirable body control for his age. In traffic, he rarely seems rushed on ball—he is a consistently calm presence creating for himself and others out wide.
On the attack, Roshdy is a dynamic piece going forward that blends technical prowess with physical determination on and off the ball to maintain a consistent creative threat. His off-ball movement and tactical intelligence show with the volume of support runs he makes, lots of times into the back post, timing his motions well to keep himself onside. He primarily overlaps with his runs but has flexibility to underlap as an inside forward on the right or when simply moving inside from the left to continue his support run as a wide progressive carrier gets forward.
Roshdy is a mainstay in link up play, coming down the flank as an option short. He is on ball so much that drawing fouls on pushes through his back upon reception or getting tripped up on his turn are a commonplace in his style. This ability to draw fouls also helps him when progressive carrying as his pace is not usually enough to separate from those chasing him down. His dominant right foot is his major tool in distribution, attempting plenty of line-breaking passes, flick-ons, in swung crosses with it. The deliveries from crosses have exciting end quality that has space for marginal improvement to set up more decisive headed finishes. His accuracy overall is quite reliable from a variety of distances. Roshdy can spread play with ease, seeing the field quite well to switch play or attempt creative passes when facing pressure. His assist against Burkina Faso came on a weak footed box-penetrating pass after using his strength to resist pressure cutting inside, a fine example of combining two of his strengths. Though a technically sound dribbler with an explosive first step, overdribbling at this level is a bit of an issue for him. Afforded more space, he takes his time which slows down promising attacks. On the contrary, his dribbling is quite effective in 1v1s at this level due to his reliably soft first touch into hesitations and changes of pace to beat markers both to the outside and cutting inside.
The now 17-year-old Egyptian attacker showed strong finishing ability in this competition. He demonstrates a confidence when shooting with both feet, emphasizing power on his strikes over placement. His first goal was a leaping back post header finishing over the back of his marker using his leaping ability. The second was an astonishing strong footed bicycle finish, displaying his body control and again his confidence in the finish past the keeper into the far post. He had a shot from distance with his weak foot for power sliced over the crossbar, an ambitious attempt that showed decisiveness when given space, though proving Roshdy needs to improve his end product. He also added some near post power finishes from close distance with his weak foot that were saved. In terms of creating for others, he attempted cutbacks often with middling success, just looking to play it into danger while losing his angle. His key passing took necessary risks to take advantage of his elite vision for the age group.
His hard-working play style translates well to his pressing, bringing tons of energy to quickly close down and rush on ball decisions. When recovering into his own half, Roshdy presses from behind at times, looking to time stand tackles but is ineffective.
Roshdy stood out as a leader of attacking play for Egypt in this tournament. His goal contributions, intangibles, and technical prowess came together to keep Egypt in the hunt for a qualification spot. Though his athleticism may hold him back from reaching the top five leagues, Roshdy proved he is ready to begin seeing senior football minutes. Continuing to work on his dribbling and ball-striking will be key to his development, if he desires to reach Europe.
Target Scouting 