Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Egypt’s Pharaohs kick off their TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 campaign with a top gun encounter this Tuesday by 5pm Nigerian time.
The following are the match facts from Opta:
● This will be the ninth encounter between Nigeria and Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations – only three fixtures have been played more often in the history of the tournament (Cameroon-Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire-Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana – all 10 times). Nigeria hold the upper hand with three wins to Egypt’s two, although their last encounter in 2010 went to the Pharaohs (3-1 in the group phase).
● Nigeria are making their 19th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations. They have reached the semi-finals in 14 of their last 16 AFCON participations, winning the tournament on three occasions.
● This is Egypt’s 25th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations, a record in the history of the tournament. They have won it seven times, more than any other side. However, they have won none of the last five AFCON tournaments after winning each of the previous three (2006, 2008, 2010).
● Egypt are unbeaten in each of their last 16 group matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (W12 D4). Their last defeat in the group phase dates back to the 2004 tournament (1-2 v Algeria).
● Since his debut in the competition in 2017, Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 60% of Egypt’s goals in the Africa Cup of Nations (4 goals + 2 assists, out of a team total of 10 goals).