December 17, 2025 — Dalena Reporters
Nigeria’s Super Eagles were edged 2-1 by Egypt in a high-profile pre-Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) friendly played at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday night, as both nations sharpened preparations ahead of the continental tournament in Morocco.
The friendly marked a rare victory for Egypt over Nigeria, the North Africans’ first in about a decade, providing a morale-boosting finish to their AFCON tune-up schedule.
Egypt opened the scoring in the 28th minute through Mahmoud Saber, who finished a well-placed cross from teammate Zizo to put the hosts ahead early. Nigeria responded late in the first half when Chidozie Awaziem headed in a Zaidu Sanusi free kick in added time before the break, levelling the score and lifting Super Eagles spirits heading into the interval.
However, Egypt regained the lead shortly after the second half commenced as Mostafa Mohamed struck in the 53rd minute, converting a cut-back from Zizo to restore the advantage and ultimately secure the win for the Pharaohs.
Both sides made a number of substitutions after halftime as coaches took the opportunity to experiment with squad options and give playing time to fringe players ahead of AFCON, with talismanic stars like Victor Osimhen and Mohamed Salah absent from the line-ups.
The match acted as a final rehearsal before the Africa Cup of Nations begins later this month, with Nigeria set to kick off their AFCON campaign against Tanzania, while Egypt will begin against Zimbabwe, according to tournament schedules.
Despite the defeat, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will take lessons from the encounter as they seek continental glory, using the Cairo test as a barometer for tactical tweaks and squad cohesion ahead of competitive action in Morocco.