Nigeria suffered a 2-1 defeat to Egypt at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday night in a friendly match, as they continued preparations for the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament.
Head coach Eric Chelle had invited a 28-man contingent to travel to Morocco for the tournament, the list headlined by the likes of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi.
However, several high-profile names also miss out, the most notable of them being goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, who was left out of the final squad.
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On Tuesday night, they faced an Egypt side that were out of sorts heading into the tournament with poor results in their past few matches.
The Pharaohs raced into the lead in the first half through Mahmoud Saber, before Chidozie Awaziem strengthened his chances of making Nigeria’s lineup with a contribution at the other hand, grabbing his side’s equalizer.
Mostafa Mohamef put Egypt back in front in the second half and with no additional goals, the game ended 2-1 in favor of the home side.
The result gave head coach Eric Chelle plenty to ponder and in this piece, SportPremi highlights four major talking points from the match;
1. Eric Chelle must find the perfect center-back pairing before Nigeria’s opener against Tanzania:
Nigeria’s first choice center-backs for the latter part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers were Benjamin Fredrick and Calvin Bassey. However, Fredrick was injured in the buildup to the AFCON and will be unavailable.
William Troost-Ekong, who would have been the perfect replacement for the injured youngster also announced his retirement from international football, depriving the team of two quality defenders.
Against Egypt, the likes of Igoh Ogbu, Chidozie Awaziem and Semi Ajayi did very little to boost their chances, as they were unconvincing for most part of the game.
However, Chelle must make use of the remaining training sessions before the Super Eagles opener against Tanzania in just less than a week to determine the best partner for the left-footed Bassey.
2. Nwabali’s return gives Nigeria assurance in goal:
In the buildup to the tournament, there were doubts surrounding the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, who had been injured since November and had missed several games for club side Chippa United.
There was even more surprise when Maduka Okoye, who could have replaced Nwabali was left out of the squad entirely.
The Chippa United goalkeeper started in goal on Tuesday and was more composed, giving supporters assurance and he is set to start the country’s opener against Tanzania on the 23rd.
3. Osimhen remains Nigeria’s best attacking outlet:
Victor Osimhen missed Tuesday’s defeat to Egypt, but is set to join the rest of the team in their base at Morocco.
The Galatasaray forward’s influence in the Super Eagles cannot be matched and it was very evident in the friendly match against Egypt.
The likes of Paul Onuachu and Chidera Ejuke were not able to match the intensity and pressing that Victor Osimhen provides, raising concerns about how the team would cope if their talisman was sidelined during the tournament.
However, as long as the 26-year-old stays fit, Nigeria will remain a formidable threat and have the potential to go all the way in the competition.
4. Creativity lacks in midfield:
Despite having quality in midfield, Nigeria primarily depend on set-pieces and their wingers to generate goalscoring opportunities.
It was very evident on Tuesday as Paul Onuachu, who started in the number ‘9’ role was left to feed off scraps as there was little to no service for him.
A likely solution could see Ademola Lookman deployed in the attacking midfield role, allowing Alex Iwobi to drop deeper alongside Wilfried Ndidi at the base of midfield.
Whatever approach Eric Chelle decides on, it will need to be finalized before Nigeria kicks off their campaign against Tanzania in six days.
