January 11, (THEWILL) – Two of the African continent most successful football nations, Egypt and Nigeria, will lock horns in one of the most anticipated group games at the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon on Tuesday in the Group D opener.
The encounter, at the State Roumde Adjia in Garoua, is one that has generated particularly high interest, due largely to the pedigree of individual talents on both sides and the history of the teams in the continental tournament.
Egypt has won the competition a record seven times, and Nigeria has won it three times, the most recent being in 2013, under former player and head coach, the late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi.
Although the overall odds appear to be in favour of the Pharaohs of Egypt, the team’s captain and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, one of the exciting players to light this AFCON, stated ahead of the game that the Super Eagles must be taken seriously.
“I think they [Nigeria] are a dangerous team. I don’t think we are the first candidate [to win] this tournament but we’ll do our best to win it,” said Salah. “We have a good coach, a good team, a very good group.”
Egypt’s previous AFCON triumph was in 2010, a year before Salah made his international debut, although they were eliminated from the 2017 final after losing to hosts Cameroon.
Salah has been in perhaps the finest form of his career with Liverpool this season, scoring 23 goals in 26 appearances and being nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
The 29-year-old also said he would “love to win something with Egypt”.
“I think this is the only thing I didn’t win yet. But, I was lucky that we got to the World Cup after 28 years, or maybe 30 years now, but I always say I would love to win something with my country. I came here, I’m with them the national team. I’m proud to wear the shirt. I give my best to the team.
“I win individual awards, that’s not important, the team awards always come first. Hopefully, we can do something this time.”
Nigeria is now ranked 36th in FIFA’s rankings, nine places ahead of Egypt (45), and has advanced to the semi-final stage in 14 of their last 16 AFCON appearances.
The Super Eagles and the Pharaohs will meet for the ninth time at the continental competition on Tuesday, with both teams winning three times and drawing twice.
The last time the two countries met in a friendly match in 2019 was when Nigeria won 1-0.
Nigeria came in third place at the 2019 African Football Confederation (AFCON) in Egypt where Odion Ighalo was the highest goal-scorer in the competition, winning the Golden Boot.
Prior to the game, Nigerian captain Ahmed Musa voiced optimism, claiming that his team was determined to advance far in the tournament.
“I always give my best when I am called up with the national team. So, playing in the tournament [against Egypt] it is not the same as when we used to play in the [World Cup] qualifiers, that’s why I always give my best when I wear the Nigeria T-shirt.”
“My second AFCON was in Egypt, and we ended up in top position, so as this is my last AFCON. Hopefully, we are going to win the cup because everybody knows the importance of winning the trophy.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
