Super Eagles defender Chidozie Awaziem has urged the national team to draw positives from their friendly defeat to Egypt and shift focus to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Nigeria suffered a 2–1 loss to the Pharaohs on Tuesday night at the Cairo International Stadium in a warm-up match ahead of the continental tournament. Goals from Mahmoud Saber and Mostafa Mohamed secured the win for Egypt, while Awaziem scored Nigeria’s lone goal with a header late in the first half. Reacting to the encounter, the Nantes defender described the match as a valuable test for the Super Eagles, noting the quality of the opposition and the importance of the fixture in the team’s preparations. “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,” Awaziem said, speaking to the Super Eagles media. Despite the defeat, Awaziem insisted that the performance offered encouraging signs, especially in terms of team structure and player assessment. “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,” he added. According to him, the technical crew would have gained useful insights from the match, stressing the need to build on the positives as the team heads into the AFCON. “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 and had so many chances to score. We just have to take the positives and move ahead,” Awaziem said.
Awaziem Urges Super Eagles to Take Positives from Egypt Friendly Ahead of AFCON 2025
