AFCON 2021: Caging Mo Salah, Egypt Came Easy – Eguavoen

• ‘We weren’t on the pitch’ – Egypt’s Coach, Queiroz laments

GROUP D STANDINGS

Pos		Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1		Nigeria	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	3	W
2		Guinea-Bissau	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	D
3		Sudan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	D
4		Egypt	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0	L

BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Nigeria’s interim Coach, Austin Eguavoen says playing to instructions, high pressing, and not undermining the Egyptians were the tactics deployed by the Super Eagles to defeat Mohamed Salah and his teammates on Tuesday evening in their opening Group D game of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

Explaining the team’s commanding performance against the seven-time winners, Coach Eguavoen said the Eagles played to their strength and with confidence against the North Africans in the encounter played at Garoua in Cameroon.

Reveling in the 1-0 victory secured through Kelechi Iheanacho’s 30th-minute strike, the former Nigerian international said there is no letting down their guards as the Eagles will continue fighting the same way they did against Egyptians because no team in the competition is a pushover.

Eguavoen, who spoke at a post-match conference, said; “The tactics we deployed were high pressing, coming back to defend as a unit and then not undermining the opponent.”

Interestingly, the strategy worked perfectly as Liverpool’s talisman, Salah was non-existent in the game. His only noticeable impact was a goal-bound effort that Nigeria’s goal-tender, Maduka Okoye’s outstretched leg comfortably dealt with.

On the approach to Nigeria’s next game, the Coach said every game would be taken as it comes, stressing that every team at this year’s AFCON should be respected and taken seriously irrespective of the country’s name.

According to him, “There are no minors in football anymore, so if you don’t plan well and put in the effort, you can be shocked. I don’t know who will win the tournament, but we will try our possible best to approach our games with all seriousness”.

Nigeria will be taking on Sudan in their next game slated for Saturday, January 15, 2021.

Our First-half Display Disastrous – Queiroz
Coach Carlos Queiroz was unimpressed that the Pharaohs were silenced by the Super Eagles and rued a shambolic first-half showing

Reacting to the North Africans’ 1-0 loss to Nigeria, the Portuguese tactician lamented that his side’s first-half display was pathetic, saying; “We weren’t on the pitch.”

In a post-match conference, Queiroz said; “The performance in the first half was very poor, and that’s the truth, we weren’t on the pitch.

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

Prior to Tuesday’s match at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua, the Egyptians were undefeated in each of their last 16 group matches at AFCON. Their last group stage defeat was against Algeria in Tunisia 2004.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny were on paraded from start to finish, regardless, none could rescue the Egyptians from crumbling. With the defat, Egypt currently sit at the base of Group D with no points.

They have an uphill task of defeating Guinea-Bissau in their second game to fancy their chances of progressing the knockout phase as they target a record eighth African title in Cameroon.

However, Queiroz is still upbeat at his side’s chances of progressing to the Round of 16 saying; “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.”

This is Egypt’s 25th appearance at the finals, a record in the history of the tournament. They have won it seven times, more than any other side. But, they have won none of the last five editions after winning each of the previous three (2006, 2008, 2010).

They hosted the 2019 edition but crashed out in the Round of 16 following a 1-0 loss to South Africa at the Cairo International Stadium, with Thembinkosi Lorch’s 85th-minute encounter separating both countries. – With Goal.com reports