Despite failing to reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt boss Hossam Hassan believes the experience has been positive for his team ahead of this year’s World Cup.
Egypt failed to make their 11th appearance in an AFCON showpiece match after losing 1-0 to Senegal in the semi-finals, with Sadio Mane’s goal in the 78th minute making the difference.
Indeed, it was the first time Egypt had been eliminated in the last four stages of the competition since 1984, when they were defeated by Nigeria on penalties.
In that defeat, Egypt attempted just three shots, the lowest total in an AFCON encounter since Opta started analyzing the competition (2010 – 33 matches in total).
But ahead of Saturday’s third-place play-off with Nigeria at the Stade Mohammed V, Hassan was proud of his side’s efforts despite falling short of a record-extending eighth title.
“It was a very good preparation for us. We tried different game systems and played against different types of opponents during the tournament,” said Hassan.
“We were close to the final, but that’s football. Overall I’m happy with everything that happened and what we achieved.”
“We have a good team. We were away from home and didn’t have many supporters.”
Hassan added that the lack of European players in Egypt may have hindered progress this time.
The 28-man Egyptian squad had just three players from Europe: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Nantes’ Mostafa Mohamed.
“Players from Europe gain better tactical insight and become much stronger physically, and we need that added value to make us better,” Hassan added.
“I think tomorrow’s match will give us the opportunity to continue our preparations, but we always want to win.
“Egypt always plays to win, we are a team that has won the Cup of Nations seven times in the past.
“We will evaluate after the competition where we need to improve. We will study the positives to be much better both in defense and in attack.”
#Depharaohs head to Casablanca for the third place match against Nigeria #egyptent pic.twitter.com/Pd4Ew9we7B
— Egypt National Team (@EgyptNT_EN) January 15, 2026
Nigeria, meanwhile, suffered heartbreak in the semi-finals, with Yassine Bounou’s penalty heroics earning a 4-2 win for Morocco after a 0-0 draw in regular time.
They were eliminated in the AFCON semi-finals for the eighth time, at least three more than any other country.
The Super Eagles have been eliminated at this stage in six of their last eight outings, having overcome this hurdle in six of their first eight matches.
But Nigeria boss Eric Chelle believes his team was unlucky not to reach the final as they had impressed throughout the competition.
“It’s difficult to play these big games because you’re in Morocco, you’re playing against a team, but you’re playing against the crowd and you’re under more pressure,” Chelle admitted.
“We missed some tactical moves in that match. So in reality I am proud of my players.”
“It is very difficult for me and the players because the reality is that we are leaving this AFCON without any defeat in the 90 minutes,” he added.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Egypt – Mohamed Salah
Salah (11) is just one goal away from equaling Hassan El-Shazly (12) as Egypt’s top scorer at AFCON.
Of the last thirty goals scored by Egypt in the competition, Liverpool star Salah has scored (11) or assisted (five) in more than half of them (53% – 16/30).
Nigeria – Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen has scored four goals in six games for Nigeria at this year’s AFCON after scoring just one goal in seven games in the 2023 edition.
He also leads all players in the current tournament in expected goals (4.3) and shots (21), while only Morocco’s Brahim Díaz (five) has scored more goals.
MATCH PREDICTION: NIGERIA WIN
This will be the tenth meeting between Egypt and Nigeria at AFCON, making it only the fifth match to be played as many as ten times (12 for Ivory Coast against Egypt, 11 for Cameroon against Egypt and 10 for Algeria against Nigeria and Ivory Coast against Ghana).
Nigeria have the joint most wins against Egypt at AFCON (four – level with Cameroon), while they are also the team that has scored the most goals (12) against the Pharoahs in the competition.
This will also be Nigeria’s eighth appearance in the third place play-off match at AFCON, with their current total of seven already the highest of any side. After this match, Nigeria (eight) will be the only team with more than Egypt, who will appear in sixth place this year.
And the signs are in Nigeria’s favor. They have a 100% record in third place play-off matches at AFCON (7/7) and win them all without the need for extra time or penalties.
Egypt, meanwhile, has won just two of nine matches against Nigeria at AFCON (D3 L4) – of the teams they have faced three times, only against Algeria (20% – 1/5) do they have a lower winning percentage than against Nigeria (22% – 2/9).
And after their semi-final defeat to Senegal, Egypt saw an end to a run of 15 matches without defeat at AFCON (W7 D8). However, the Pharaohs have not lost consecutive matches in the same edition since 1992.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Egypt – 31%
Draw – 25.7%
Nigeria – 43.4%
#Hassan #Egyptian #AFCON #campaign #good #preparation #World #Cup #Football #news