Youssef was the captain of the Egyptian team in the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics and scored a goal against Colombia. He made his debut with the first Egyptian national team in a 1994 African Nations Cup qualifier against Morocco on 11 July 1993. Youssef made 95 appearances for Egypt national football team, including three matches at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, three qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and two qualifying matches for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He won with Egypt the 1998 African Nations Cup, and also played in the 1994 African Nations Cup and 2000 African Nations Cup.