Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has challenged his players to finish the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations strongly when they face Egypt in the third place playoff at the Mohammed V Stadium on Saturday, 17 January.
Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
CURRENT FORM:
The Super Eagles were one of the favourites to go all the way in Morocco after winning their opening five matches and scoring the most goals (14) en-route to the semifinals.
However, Chelle's side saw their perfect record in the tournament come to an end at the hands of the Atlas Lions, who produced a defensive masterclass to limit their opponents to just two shots in 120 minutes of football.
The AFCON 2023 losing finalists were eventually eliminated 4-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time and they will now battle it out with the Pharaohs for the bronze medal.
Egypt, who have won the title a record seven times, didn't really dazzle at the continental showpiece, although they were involved in one of the joint-highest-scoring games after beating defending champions Ivory Coast 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
Hossam Hassan's side made an unbeaten run to the semifinals, but they were far too defensive against Senegal, managing just three attempts at goal before being undone by Sadio Mane's winner in the 78th minute.
This is the 10th meeting between the two teams at AFCON and their most recent encounter came in the 2021 edition when Nigeria ran out narrow 1-0 victors during the group stages.
WHAT WAS SAID:
Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle
"Losing on penalties is very painful. It's difficult because we worked hard throughout the entire tournament, but that's football. We must continue working.
"The African Cup [of Nations] is not finished. We have to stay focused on the next game, and we have to win this game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Egypt - Mohamed Salah has scored in all but two of his team's six matches in Morocco and was on target against Benin in the round of 16 and the Elephants in the quarterfinals. The 33-year-old winger struggled to get into the game against the Lions of Teranga and will be looking to set things right in the third place playoff as he's still in the race for the Golden Boot, with leading scorer Brahim Diaz just one goal ahead of him.
Nigeria - Victor Osimhen will have a point to prove after he failed to make an impact against Morocco last time out. The 27-year-old striker, who bagged his first goal of the tournament in the 3-2 win over Tunisia, starred against Mozambique in the round of 16 with a brace before opening the scoring against Algeria in the quarterfinals. Like Salah, he is in the running for the Golden Boot.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: (Last Five AFCON Matches)
Matches - 5
Egypt wins - 1
Nigeria wins -2
Draws - 2