The revised date for the pre-tournament friendly between the Nigerian Super Eagles and the Egyptian Pharaohs has been confirmed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
FIFA’s decision to enable clubs to retain their players until Monday, December 15, before releasing them for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco caused the friendly to be postponed by two days.
According to reports, Nigeria and Egypt were scheduled to meet in Cairo on Sunday, December 14, in accordance with the prior rule requiring national team players to be released earlier. The new date for the game is Tuesday, December 16.
To allow the two coaches to field more than five substitutes, the match has been categorized as a practice match in addition to the date change. The match will begin at 8 p.m. local time (7 p.m. in Nigeria) at Cairo Stadium.
Nigeria, the three-time champion, is paired alongside Tanzania, Uganda, and Tunisia in Group C. On Tuesday, December 23, the Super Eagles play Tanzania at the Complexe Sportif de Fes to kick off their season.
On Saturday, December 27, they will play Tunisia, and on Tuesday, December 30, they will finish their group matches against Uganda.
The Stade d’Agadir will host Group B matches for Egypt, the most successful team in the competition with seven titles. For the competition’s 35th edition, they are paired with South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe.
