Nigeria vs Egypt: Who takes control of Group D today in Garoua
The Much talked about Nations cup Group D opener between Super Eagles of Nigeria and Pharaohs of Egypt takes centre stage today in Garoua Cameroon.
Although five matches of the tournament have already been played including the first match involving hosts Cameroon as well as last edition finalists Senegal, random vox pop conducted by Sportinglife.ng indicate that many are looking forward to today’s clash which some say should produce a lot of fireworks to live up to its bidding.
This would be the 19th meeting of both sides in all categories of Championships including friendly matches dating back to January 1960.
Statistics indicate that Egypt won 8 of the matches drew 5 and lost 5. The last two meetings of both sides were Nations cup qualifiers on 29th March 2016 in Alexandria which Egypt won by a lone goal and 26th of March 2019 friendly at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba which Eagles won also by a lone goal.
The heaviest defeat Eagles suffered in the hands of pharaohs was 6-3 defeat in nations cup group B tie in 1963,with Egyptian legend Hassan El-Shazly accounting for four of the goals and teammate Reda grabbing a brace at the Sports Stadium, Kumasi.
On the other hand the heaviest defeat Pharaohs suffered in the hands of Super Eagles was 4-0 spanking in 1977 FIFA world Cup group finals where Mathematical Segun Odegbami grabbed a brace leaving Chairman Christian Chukwu and Johnny N’Wadioha to score the rest.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge and the both teams have evolved other the years ruling out the possibility of ever recording a whitewash.
Today’s match though expected to be full of fireworks it not expected to produce avalanche of goals as both teams will be both technically and tactically cautions bearing records and unending rivalry in mind.
One interesting thing about both teams is the composition of the squad. Of the 28 players being paraded by Egypt only six play outside Egypt.
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On the Nigerian side out of 28 players, only one John Noble plies his trade at home. Fans who spoke to Sportinglife.ng say Eagles must look for a way of caging Liverpool talisman Mohammed Salah whose free scoring prowess in recent time has become a source of worry for opponents.
Die hard optimist however say Salah is just one player out of 11 on the pitch insisting that Eagles can carry the day if the Austin Eaguavoen tutored side mean business from the first blast of the whistle.
The grass of Stade Omnisport de Garoua will certainly suffer today as these two ‘elephants’ meet.