Football: Nigeria to face Egypt in final warm-up match before AFCON 2025
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
Pharaohs and Super Eagles looking to build momentum ahead of 2025 AFCON
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is now within touching distance, and the anticipation has gone up a notch over the past 24 hours with overseas-based players now back with their national teams following the December 15 deadline set by FIFA.
Before heading to Morocco, Nigeria have stopped off in Egypt to face the Pharaohs in Cairo this evening, with both teams looking to work out any kinks in their armour ahead of the continental showpiece, which we will be covering in our AFCON 2025 predictions.
This evening’s fixture will allow head coaches Eric Chelle and Hossam Hassan the opportunity to hand some of their newer players valuable minutes to stake a claim for a starting spot at the tournament, and in Nigeria’s case, a chance to resettle after a tough year.
Indeed, the three-time African champions are under serious pressure to deliver in Morocco after finishing as runners-up in the Ivory Coast two years ago and failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
For Egypt - seven-time champions of Africa - AFCON 2025 is about returning to the summit of African football, having last won the title in 2010. All eyes will be on Mohamed Salah, who has won about every trophy in club football, but has never lifted the ultimate continental prize.
The match will be played at the Cairo International Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 18:00 GMT, and you can follow the action in real-time using our football livescore tool.
Big names expected to miss Egypt vs Nigeria clash this evening
While both coaches will be keen to hand as many players game time this evening as possible, there is an expectation that some of the biggest names from both camps are likely to sit out this fixture.
The likes of Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush and Victor Osimhen, among others, missed their countries’ final training sessions on Monday, having played for their clubs at the weekend, and Hassan and Chelle will likely opt to give them a rest to avoid any unwanted late injuries.
In terms of confirmed absentees, Egypt’s team director Ibrahim Hassan confirmed that Mahmoud Hassan will not feature tonight following a dental procedure, while Ibrahim Adel is nursing an ankle issue and will not be risked until the tournament opener.
