Super Eagles defender Chidozie Awaziem and striker Paul Onuachu have insisted that the team will take the positives from their 2–1 friendly defeat to Egypt while addressing their shortcomings ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Despite missing key players such as Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, the Pharaohs secured victory courtesy of first-half goals from Mahmoud Saber and Mostafa Mohamed. Awaziem scored Nigeria’s lone goal in the encounter.
Head coach Eric Chelle used the fixture to assess several new players, including Ebenezer Akinsomiro and Tochukwu Nnadi, while also experimenting with different tactical setups and formations.
The match served as the final warm-up for both nations before their AFCON openers. While the result provided a morale boost for Egypt, Awaziem and Onuachu believe the Super Eagles gained more positives than negatives from the contest.
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“I think it was a good test for us. Egypt are not an easy team to play against—they have many quality players,” Awaziem said. “The purpose of the game was to test ourselves ahead of AFCON and for the coach to try new players and different tactics to prepare properly.
“Although the result wasn’t what we wanted, the main objectives of the friendly were achieved. We were able to test different structures, tactics, and players. Now we’ll take the positives and move forward to AFCON.
“We dominated the game, forced them to sit back, and created many chances to score.”
Although he did not get on the scoresheet, the match carried special significance for Trabzonspor striker Paul Onuachu, who made his Super Eagles debut against Egypt in 2019 and scored his first international goal in a 1–0 win over the Pharaohs.
“It feels good to play against Egypt, especially knowing that I scored my first goal for the Super Eagles against them years ago,” Onuachu said. “I felt confident and comfortable during the game and thought I played well, but unfortunately, we lost. Still, as a team, we had a good performance.”
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