Nigeria suffered a narrow defeat to Egypt in an international friendly arranged as part of preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, as the Pharaohs secured a 2–1 victory over the Super Eagles. Egypt sealed the win through a second-half effort from Mostafa Mohamed, handing Nigeria a second straight loss ahead of their AFCON opener against Tanzania.
Mahmoud Saber gave Egypt the lead in the first half, but Chidozie Awaziem brought Nigeria level before the break to restore parity. Mostafa Mohamed eventually decided the contest after the interval, as Eric Chelle’s team failed to recover from another defensive lapse and slipped to consecutive pre-tournament defeats.
Chelle opted to field a largely experimental lineup, leaving established stars such as Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Alex Iwobi out of the matchday squad. Paul Onuachu spearheaded the attack, with Sevilla winger Chidera Ejuke operating in a supporting role. The defensive setup also featured a fresh central pairing, as Igoh Ogbu lined up alongside Nantes defender Chidozie Awaziem.
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan also rang changes to his team, resting key players including Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush. Their absence did little to affect Egypt’s attacking threat, as Zizo emerged as the standout performer and played a decisive role in both goals scored by the hosts.
Egypt broke the deadlock before the half-hour mark when Al Ahly right-back Mohamed Hany threaded a precise pass through Nigeria’s defence to locate Zizo. The 29-year-old showed composure to square the ball across the face of goal, allowing Saber to slot home into an empty net.
Nigeria responded with urgency as the first half drew to a close, piling pressure on Egypt’s defence in a determined bid to avoid heading into the interval behind. That spell of pressure paid off following a foul on the left edge of Egypt’s penalty area. Zaidu Sanusi delivered the ensuing free kick, which Mohamed El-Shenawy failed to clear convincingly. Awaziem reacted quickest at the far post and nodded the loose ball into the net to level the score.
Egypt regained control of the match less than ten minutes after the restart. Zizo timed his run to beat Nigeria’s defensive line in a move that sparked controversy, before laying the ball into the path of Mostafa Mohamed. The striker struck firmly, his effort beating Amas Obasogie, who had replaced Stanley Nwabali at half-time, to restore Egypt’s advantage.
The Pharaohs managed the closing stages effectively and protected their lead until the final whistle, recording their first victory over Nigeria since the 2016 AFCON qualifying series.
The result further underlines Nigeria’s recent struggles in matches played without Victor Osimhen. The Super Eagles endured a difficult World Cup qualifying campaign in his absence, failing to record a single win across the five games he missed. Analysts and fans have widely pointed to his unavailability as a major factor behind Nigeria’s failure to secure qualification for next year’s global tournament, raising fresh concerns ahead of the AFCON 2025 finals.
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