The Super Eagles suffered a narrow 2–1 defeat to the Pharaohs of Egypt in their pre-AFCON friendly played Tuesday at the Cairo International Stadium.
Head coach Eric Chelle rang the changes in his starting lineup for the clash, and his decision to leave out several regular starters saw Nigeria struggle to impose themselves in the opening exchanges, with the Super Eagles failing to seriously trouble Egypt for much of the first half.
Although the Pharaohs were also not overly threatening, they took the lead in the 28th minute through a well-worked move. Mohamed Hany split the Super Eagles defence with a precise pass to Zizo, who in turn squared for Mahmoud Saber to tap home from close range and make it 1–0.
Nigeria responded positively after conceding and increased the tempo, a spell of pressure that paid off in the final seconds of the first half as Egypt failed to properly deal with Zaidu Sanusi’s free-kick, allowing Chidozie Awaziem to nod into an empty net for the equaliser.
Chelle made several changes at the interval, introducing Ademola Lookman, Tochukwu Nnadi, Bruno Onyemaechi, Semi Ajayi and Amas Obasogie in an attempt to swing the contest in Nigeria’s favour.
However, Egypt regained the lead in the 53rd minute in a move that sparked some debate over a possible offside.
Zizo once again turned provider, picking out Mostafa Mohamed, whose effort beat Obasogie to restore Egypt’s advantage and make the scoreline 2-1.
The Super Eagles created opportunities to draw level as the match wore on but were unable to find a second equaliser, with the hosts holding firm to secure the win.
Nigeria will now shift focus to the Africa Cup of Nations, where they open their campaign against Tanzania on Tuesday, December 23. Egypt, meanwhile, begin their group-stage journey against Zimbabwe on Monday.
