Egypt beat Nigeria 2–1 in pre-AFCON friendly

By Tosin Omojola –

Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Tuesday night in Cairo lost 2–1 to the Pharaohs of Egypt in a pre-Africa Cup of Nations friendly encounter.

The friendly match, organised to fine-tune both sides as they prepare for AFCON, saw the two teams begin the encounter with most of their regular players on the bench.

Super Eagles handler, Eric Chelle, lined up mostly fringe players, with only goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, Zaidu Sanusi, Frank Onyeka and Chidozie Awaziem starting as regulars.

The Egyptians drew first blood in the 28th minute through Mahmoud Saber, who tapped in effortlessly from a cross by Zizo.

Nigeria responded on the stroke of half-time when Zaidu Sanusi’s free kick was headed in from close range by skipper Chidozie Awaziem after Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy failed to handle the delivery.

The Pharaohs came back stronger after the break and restored their lead in the 58th minute, with Zizo again involved after creating space for Mostafa Mohamed to drill home from inside the area.

Nigeria could not find an equaliser this time as the Egyptians held firm to their lead.

The Super Eagles will kick off their AFCON campaign against Tunisia next Tuesday, a day after Egypt’s opening fixture against Zimbabwe.