Friendly: Nigeria loses to Egypt ahead of AFCON 2025

Nigeria suffered a narrow defeat to Egypt (2-1) on Tuesday evening in a friendly held at Cairo International Stadium as part of their build-up to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. For this fixture, coach Éric Chelle opted for a largely overhauled starting eleven, taking the opportunity to test several options and broaden his squad assessment. Despite this experimental context, the Super Eagles delivered a solid performance against a more settled Pharaohs side.

Egypt opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark thanks to Mahmoud Saber. The Nigerians, however, reacted before the break, Chidozie Awaziem bringing the teams level with a powerful header from a Zaidu Sanusi free kick, capitalizing on a missed clearance by the opposing defence.

After the restart, the Pharaohs increased the pressure and eventually regained the lead. Mostafa Mohamed finished off a well-constructed attacking move early in the second half, securing the victory for Egypt. The Super Eagles will continue their preparations by flying to Fez, Morocco, on Thursday, where they will enter the final phase ahead of the kick-off of AFCON 2025.