Super Eagles in Rabat, set to battle Egypt for bronze medal

By Tosin Omojola –

Nigeria’s Super Eagles are already in Rabat, Morocco, ahead of their third-place match against Egypt.

The Eagles will face the Pharaohs on Saturday in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) third-place playoff.

The Nigerian team held a closed-door training session on Thursday evening and is scheduled to have an open session on Friday. Media representatives will be allowed access only during the first few minutes of the training.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has commended the Super Eagles for reaching the semi-finals of the ongoing 35th Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, noting that the team’s campaign has been characterised by commitment, purpose, passion, discipline, patriotic fervour, and resilience.

The federation has urged the team to shift focus to the third-place match with the aim of claiming the bronze medal.

The NFF President, who is also the President of WAFU B, Ibrahim Musa Gusau (MON), on Thursday encouraged the squad to put Wednesday’s narrow semi-final defeat behind them and give their all against the Pharaohs in Casablanca.

“It is important to retain focus and not dwell on what happened in the semi-final match. The team coped well under the circumstances, navigating several challenges while playing their game. Penalty shootouts remain lotteries in football, and it could have gone either way. Two years ago, they won their semi-final match at AFCON via a penalty shootout. This time, it was not meant to be.

“The NFF is proud of the team’s performance in this championship. They gave their best and remain the team to have scored the most goals in the tournament. We will encourage them to lift their morale and go for the bronze so they can take something home from a tournament in which they have performed admirably.”