Nigeria vs Egypt : the unexpected

The match played yesterday between the Super Eagles of Nigeria national team and the Pharaohs of Egypt National team in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) was an enthralling encounter.

Both teams are big names in the African continent. They have histories of continental trophies won amongst them over the years. Nigeria and Egypt National teams have met a record 15 times. Nigeria won 9 of those encounter, drew 5 and Lost 5 to Egypt. But Egypt has of recent been more of a stronger side than Nigeria.

So it was conceivable and understandable when most pundits and fans tipped Egypt to win the game yesterday. The Super Eagles of Nigeria were obviously the underdogs as they recently changed coaches. Gernot Rohr was let go after the qualifications was concluded and Augustine Eguavon was appointed as an interim manager for the AFCONS after which Jose Peseiro will take over as the new coach.

Both side paraded a strong sides filled with big names in the football world but the biggest of them on the pitch was the Liverpool FC Egyptian star, Mohammed Salah.

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Unfortunately the game was won by the underdogs (Nigeria) by a slim margin (1 – 0). The goal was scored by Kelechi Iheanacho in the 30th minutes of the game.

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The Pharaohs of Egypt were surprisingly outplayed and outclassed by the super Eagles of Nigeria. The following stats tells the story:

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The match was not marred by wrong referees decisions, the match officials were not the stars or talking points of the game. Hopefully this two great sides will meet in the finals of the AFCONS to give us another entralling beautiful game of football.

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