Nigeria’s Super Eagles fell 2-1 to Egypt’s Pharaohs in a tense Cairo Stadium friendly Tuesday—their last test before the 35th AFCON kicks off Sunday in Morocco—debuting coach Eric Chelle’s 3-5-2 that owned early ball but leaked a slick counter goal midway first half.
Eagles fought back compactly, nabbing a stoppage-time equalizer via Zaidu Sanusi’s pinpoint cross and Chidozie Awaziem’s header, but halftime tweaks to 4-4-2 couldn’t stop Egypt’s dodgy offside second strike—defended deep as Chelle got carded protesting ref calls like a ignored handball shout.
Super Eagles jet to Fes Thursday for Group C scraps with Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda, while Egypt hits Agadir for Group B—sharp tune-up exposing set-piece promise and tactical flex amid referee gripes for Morocco’s Dec 21-Jan 18 showdown.
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