Nigeria vs Egypt summary: score, goals, highlights, AFCON 2021
Nigeria-Egypt: AFCON live
Many thanks for joining us this evening in this Group D opener that saw a fine performance from Nigeria secure a 1-0 win over the Pharaohs from Egypt. We hope to catch you soon for more AFCON coverage as the tournament progresses.
Next up for the Super Eagles is a game against Sudan on Saturday as Egypt will face Guinea-Bissau on the same day with little room for error after today's result.
A solid performance from Nigeria today as they were too strong for a Egypt side who never really got into gear. A discreet evening from Mo Salah as Moses Simon, Kelechi Iheanacho and Taiwo Awoniyi all impressed for the Super Eagles.
Last chance saloon for Egypt now as the whistle sounds and Nigeria start their AFCON campaign with a solid win over seven time winners in Egypt.
Egypt pushing now as they sense that this game has passed them by... Great run from sub Ejuke who sprints the length of the pitch and forces a fine save from the Egypt keeper El Shenawy.
Iwobi on for Moses Simon who has been excellent as 4 minutes of time added on will be used
Change for Egypt as Sherif comes on for Mahmoud Hamdi El Wensh
Time running out now for Egypt as the clock ticks down. An equaliser for the Pharaohs would be way more than their endeavor and effort in this game deserve.
Decent ball in from Monem and Nigeria clear for a corner. Hegazy scoops the ball back into the danger area but it drifts over the bar.
Wilfred Ndidi is now down for Nigeria and seems to have developed cramp.
Less than ten minutes left for Egypt to secure something from this game and have just realized that we've yet to have any cards this evening. It's been a fair contest with the refs only issue dealing with flat balls in the first half.
Switches in the Nigeria side as Ajayi and Nwakali come on ... the injured Kenneth Omeruo and goal hero Iheanacho make way
A blow for Kenneth Omeruo as he's stretchered from the pitch....
Ejuke forces the Egypt keeper into action and it really is all one way traffic at the moment. Egypt have failed to respond!
Kenneth Omeruo goes down and the Leganes man needs medical help. The defender seemed to fall badly after colliding with the Egypt goalkeeper.
Poor showing tonight from Samuel Chukuweze but will be interesting to see Sadiq in action as he secures his first cap for the Super Eagles.
Changes for Nigeria.... Almeria striker Sadiq is on for Awoniyi and Chukwueze makes way for Ejuke. Umar Sadiq is a top, top striker !!!!
First effort of the night for Salah but the Liverpool man was off balance as he shot.
Twenty to play in Garoua and despite their domination, Nigeria do just hold a slender 1-0 win at present.
Augustine Eguavoen will be hoping that the 'temporary' feature of his current managerial status will be removed if Nigeria can deliver more performances like this in Cameroon .....
Can it be as simple as the 'new manager bounce'? When covering all the Super Eagles WC group games, I don't recall the Gernot Rohr version playing as well and with this level of grit and determination....
Kelechi Iheanacho looks to double his tally for the night but drives the ball just wide of the Egypt goal
Finally, Egypt shake off their inhibitions as Zizo takes the ball to the by-line but his cross is met by the men in green who avert the danger.
We've passed the hour mark here in Garoua and it remains Nigeria 1-0 ahead.
Can the Egypt changes shake things up for the men in red. Aston Villa's Trezeguet was another player who offered very little in the first period.
Changes for Egypt as Zizo and Sobhi come on with Trezeguet and Mohamed making way
Kelechi Iheanacho almost makes it 2-0 after confusion at the back for Egypt. Poor first touch from the Leicester player as the Egyptian keeper lay on the floor.
Carlos Quieroz starting to look apprehensive on the Egypt bench. Nigeria keeping the seven-time winners at bay as things stand and are good value for the lead. To be honest, a goal for the men in green looks more on the cards at present than a strike for Egypt.
Both the pre-game 'ones to watch': Salah and Chukuweze have been discreet tonight so far....
Awoniyo crashes the ball off the bar and appeals for a goal... The ball, however failed to cross the line but more intent from the Super Eagles
Moses Simon has been excellent for Nigeria in the centre and the link-up play between Kelechi Iheanacho and Awoniyo has been encouraging.
Header wide from Nigeria as the side from the West of Africa look to double their lead. There was very little for Egypt fans to get excited about in the first half. I think we all anticipated more from Quieroz's men.
Second half is underway....
Fattoh off with Ashfaf his replacement
Just one effort from Egypt in the entire half and that came early on from Mohamed
All set in Garoua as the teams make their way back onto the pitch ....
HT in Garoua and Nigeria are good value for their 1-0 lead .... A majestic strike from Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho the difference between the teams and Egypt need to buck up their ideas to secure a way back into this contest.
Nigeria fans enjoy Garoua action
Free for Nigeria as we approach the 45' mark.... 3 minutes of added time here in
Garoua.
Solid performance from the Union Berlin forward this evening, winning his second cap and linking up really well with Iheanacho.
Awoniyi shoots again and this time his effort is easy for El Shenawy to gather.
Approaching the interval and it's the green clad Nigeria fans making all the noise now. Play held up after a clash of heads.
There's a vim and vigor about this Nigeria side that we didn't see under Gernot Rohr with the German manager having a difficult relationship with one or two of the Super Eagles squad.
Nigeria break and the through ball from Iheanacho is just too strong as the Egypt keeper smothers as Awoniyi looked to pounce.
Ten minutes remain on the clock in this first half and Carlos Quieroz needs to re-address his tactics with his side very much second best as things stand.
Totally deserved one has to say for Nigeria. They have been the more positive of the two sides and have been edging closer to an opener.
The ball falls nicely for the Leicester man who rifles into the top corner with nothing the Egypt stopper could do
Zaidu Sanusi man marking Mo Salah diligently with the Porto defender shadowing the Liverpool striker and keeping him away from the danger zone.
Moses Simon hits the side netting... great play from the Super Eagles with Simon being pushed wide ...Best chance of the half so far for Nigeria.
The players enjoy a brief water break as the ball issue gets resolved.
The ref seems to have an issue with the match balls. That's the third ball he's rejected so far from this evening's game.
Fair to say that the game has yet to get going as we pass the 20 minute mark. Just the Mohamed effort from Egypt early on to trouble the Nigeria keeper. El Shenawy in the Egypt goal has been enjoying a very placid Garoua evening.
Possession after 20': Nigeria 56%-44% Egypt
The Egyptian side now dominating the ball as they attempt to draw the Nigerian players out of position.
Mo Salah is cutting a lone figure leading the Egypt attack. Despite enjoying the bulk of possession it's Egypt who have enjoyed the sole scoring occasion of the evening through Mohamed.
Change needed for Quieroz's side as Tawfik is replaced by Monem.
Ten minutes gone and Nigeria enjoying the better of the action
Egypt momentarily down to ten man as the Al Ahly defender is treated.
Problem for Egypt as Tawfik is down and will need medical assistance. Doesn't look great for the No. 25
First danger of the evening falls to Egypt as Mohamed breaks and fires the ball straight at Nigeria keeper Okoye.
The Super Eagles enjoying the bulk of the early possession as the trumpets sound at the stadium.
Off we go in Garoua, the men in red get the action underway
All set in Garoua.... A cagey draw ? A goal fest to rock the current goal shy tournament ? A slender 1-0 ? I'll go for a win for the Super Eagles, revived under new boss Eguavoen !
Nigeria today in their dark green shirts and shorts with Egypt in red shirts and white shorts. National anthem time for both nations.
Plenty of fans from both nations in the Roumde Adjia Stadium today, Egypt fans decked out in red....Super Eagles supporters in green and white.
Nigeria: One to watch
With Napoli's Osimhen being ruled out of traveling to Cameroon, Villarreal striker Samuel Chukwueze is afforded an excellent opportunity to cement himself as Nigeria's target man. Injury hampered the early part of his 2021-22 LaLiga season but the forward has bagged two goals in his 12 games for Unai Emery's side in the league this season.
Egypt: one to watch
Possibly one of the best strikers currently around, the Liverpool forward Salah has been directly involved in 60% of Egypt’s goals in the Africa Cup of Nations (4 goals + 2 assists, out of a team total of 10 goals).
Both Nigeria and Egypt have progressed to the final round of qualification for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and have been placed in different seeding pots meaning that another home and away clash between both nations could be on the cards.
CAF will conduct the play-off draw on 22 January for the final ten remaining sides with the five play-off winners advancing to the finals
Nigeria lead Egypt in FIFA rankings
The Super Eagles lead the Pharaohs in the latest round of FIFA rankings (published last October). Egypt are placed at No. 44 with the Nigerian side dropping to 36th from 34.
The other two sides in Group D, Guinea-Bissau and Sudan are in action later this evening with these two sides really up against it to progress from the group.
Pre-match viewpoint: Egypt
The Pharaohs Portuguese boss Carlos Quieroz was in confident mood in the pre-match press conference stating: "We are ready and eagerly waiting for the start of the journey. Everyone is ready to give their best. We will face a team that has many great players, but we are ready and we will face them with full force."
Pre-match viewpoint: Nigeria
Speaking to the media ahead of today's game, new Super Eagles boss Augustine Eguavoen, who replaced German Gernot Rohr last month stated: "The organization is excellent, and I thank Cameroon for that. We have no worries. We respect Egypt, but Nigeria is a great team, and we didn't come here to lose. I'm not looking for personal glory, but the most important thing I'm looking for is an achievement for Nigeria.
Official Egypt XI
....and here is the official CAF team sheet for Carlos Quieroz's side
We'll try and get you the Egypt XI for those who can't read Arabic in a few minutes......
Nigeria train in Garoua
Nigeria's national team players during a training session in Garoua on January 10, 2022, on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 football match between Ngeria and Egypt
Algeria start campaign with goalless draw
2019 winners started the defense of their AFCON ttle with a 0-0 draw this afternoon against Sierra Leone.
Algeria opener end in stale-mate
2019 winners started the defense of their AFCON ttle with a 0-0 draw this afternoon against Sierra Leone.
Roumdé Adjia Stadium (Garoua)
Today's venue for Nigeria-Egypt
Built in 1978, Roumdé Adjia Stadium was remodelled in 2010 and again in 2020, and is the home ground of 15-time Cameroonian champions Coton Sport FC. Roumdé Adjia was in the running to stage 2020 African Nations Championship matches, but was not finally used. The complex also features a training stadium.
Super Eagles absentees
Notable absentees in the Super Eagles in Cameroon include Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who was the nation's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals, after the Napoli talisman tested positive for covid-19.
Nigeria will also have to make do without the services of strike partners Emmanuel Dennis and Odion Ighalo, who were held back by Premier League side Watford and Saudi Arabia's Al Shabab FC respectively,
Both sides have lifted the tournament on 10 occasions with Egypt holding the record for most wins with seven. Nigeria can boast three titles with the Super Eagles last bagging the title in 2013.
The game kicks-off in Garoua at 17:00 CET/11:00 ET.
Hello and a warm welcome to today's installment from Day 3 of AFCON 2021 in Cameroon and what a game we have in store as Nigeria 'Super Eagles' face 'The Pharaohs' from Egypt.