AFCON 2025 Match Preview, Third Place Playoff: Egypt Vs Nigeria

It will be a battle of two disappointed teams at the Stade Mohamed V in the ongoing AFCON tournament currently on in Morocco when Egypt and Nigeria square up against each other in a third place match after they both lost their semi-final clash with the chance to be the third best team at the tournament at stake.

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For the Pharaohs, they were hoping to add to their seven AFCON title and their first win since 2010 but that dream was ended by Stadio Mane and Senegal few days ago and this would only be a consolation but they still have a tough opponent to deal with in this encounter.

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This is because Nigeria took the host nation, Morocco to extra time before eventually losing in a penalty shootout and for the Super Eagles, after coming second in the last edition and missing out on qualifying for the World Cup, winning this match would serve as a reward for all the hard work they’ve done since arriving in Morocco.

Egypt

After missing out on his last chance at lifting a major trophy with the national team, Liverpool forward, Mo Salah will probably be cheering his teammates from the bench as he’s not expected to start despite being their top scorer at the tournament with four goals in four games.

As for Omar Marmoush, his place in the lineup is also questionable as the Manchester City star suffered a knock in the last game against Senegal and then Hossam Abdelmaguid is suspended after accumulating yellow cards all through the tournament.

Mohamed Hamdy sustained a serious knee injury against Benin in the round of 16, ruling him out for an extended period and this means that the attack will definitely have Mostafa Mohamed and Trezeguet and there is no telling if Hossam Hassan might want to give chances to other players that have played less at the tournament.

Nigeria

For the Super Eagles, their loss to the host nation marked the first time that they failed to score at AFCON 2025, an untimely loss of their attacking rhythm, even though they were hindered by some very questionable refereeing against the Atlas Lions but still, they managed to hold on until the end before being undone during the penalty shootout.

On the other hand, they head into this match with a great record as Nigeria have won in all seven of their prior third-place play-off matches, while recent history of nine wins from their last 13 games also gives them an edge even if this same opponent did defeat them in a friendly encounter before the tournament started.

Calvin Bassey, who was questionably booked against Morocco, is suspended while Cyriel Dessers is absent due to a thigh injury; however, their captain, Wilfred Ndidi returns from suspension after missing the semi-final loss and his absence was highly felt in the midfield against Morocco.

Meanwhile, Victor Osimhen’s participation remains uncertain after Eric Chelle revealed the forward was carrying an ankle injury, which forced him off before the shootout and if the Galatasaray star misses out, the responsibility falls on Ademola Lookman, Akor Adams and Paul Onuachu.

Head To Head

Nigeria have only won two of the last nine recent encounters but they also have an advantage at the AFCON against Egypt, winning five of the last eight even if their last-four defeat ended a six-match unbeaten run and given that was sparked with a 2-1 friendly victory over Nigeria themselves.

Egypt possible starting lineup: El Shenawy; Hany, Ibrahim, Rabia, Fatouh; Attia, Ashour, Fathy; Marmoush; Trezeguet, Mohamed

Nigeria possible starting lineup: Nwabali; Osayi-Samuel; Ajayi, Awaziem, Sanusi; Onyeka, Ndidi, Iwobi; Lookman; Adams, Onuachu

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Verdict: Should be a win for Nigeria if they can performed to their full potentials once again but it’s not going to be easy and the scoreline would probably be a low one too. (0-1 or 0-2).

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