Chidozie Awaziem calls Egypt friendly good test for Nigeria ahead of AFCON

Nigerian senior men’s national team defender Chidozie Awaziem has said the Super Eagles’ friendly against Egypt was a good test for the team, noting that they must take the positives from the game and focus on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The three-time African champions lost 2-1 to Hossam Hassan’s men at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday. Mahmoud Saber and Mostafa Mohammed were on target for Egypt, while Awaziem scored Nigeria’s only goal with a header late in the first half.

 

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The Nantes star, while speaking to Super Eagles media, described the encounter as a vital test as head coach Eric Chelle continues to implement new tactics ahead of AFCON.

“It was a good test for us, Egypt is not an easy country to play against. They have a couple of good players. The purpose of the friendly was for us to test ourselves before the AFCON, for the coach to try new players, new tactics, and prepare well for the AFCON.”

Reflecting on the team’s performance against the Pharaohs, Awaziem added that while the result wasn’t what they wanted, there were plenty of encouraging signs.

“It was a good test, though the result wasn’t good, it was not what we wanted. The focus was for us to see our structure, different players, see the newly invited players, and what they can contribute to the team.

I think the coach has seen that. For now we should take the positives from the game, and move to the AFCON. We dominated the game, pinned them back. We had so many chances to score. Just like I said, we just have to take the positives and move ahead.”

Nigeria, who are in Group C of the AFCON, will face the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in their opening fixture next Tuesday, before taking on Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles on December 27 and Uganda’s Cranes on December 30.

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