Egypt Still Hopeful after Disappointing Start

Egypt had their worst start of the AFCON since 2002 following a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria at the Roumdé Adjia stadium in Garoua, Cameroon on Tuesday afternoon.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s ripped shot that beat Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy in the top right corner, was enough for the Super Eagles to record their 51st AFCON win.

Things would have been worst for the Pharaohs as the Eagles took control of the match, but things to goalkeeper El Shenawy.

Egypt couldn’t have asked for a worse start to their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in terms of both result and performance.

Egypt national team coach Carlos Queiroz admitted to his team’s weak performance, but now has his attention switched to their remaining Group D matches.

“The performance in the first-half was very poor, and that’s the truth, we weren’t on the pitch,” Queiroz told beIN Sport TV in his post-match interview.

“We only started playing in the second-half. There’s no clear reason behind this failure and defeat against Nigeria.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We lost this match but there are still six points up for grabs against Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in order to qualify from the group.”[/perfectpullquote]

Egypt will now have to win their last two matches against Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, in order to book their spot in the round of 16.

Nigeria currently sit on top of Group D with three points, followed by Sudan and Guinea-Bissau that are leveled with one point apiece after a goalless draw in their opening match.