“There’s no clear reason behind this failure and defeat against Nigeria” – Quieroz fumes after loss to Super Eagles

Egypt national team manager, Carlos Queiroz, spoke about his team’s disappointing performance during their loss to Nigeria in the AFCON Egypt couldn’t have asked for a worse start to the their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in terms of both result and performance. The Pharaohs fell to a 1-0 defeat against Nigeria, thanks to a goal from Kelechi Iheanacho late in the first-half. The Super Eagles were by far the more dangerous side for the entirety of the encounter and could’ve increased the gap if it wasn’t for Mohamed El-Shennawy’s heroic performance. The game marked Egypt’s first AFCON opener defeat since 2002 when they lost to Senegal 1-0 and their first group-stage defeat when they fell against Algeria in Tunisia. Egypt now need to beat their remaining Group D opponents, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, in order to book their spot in the round of 16. Queiroz admitted that they produced a very weak display and were inferior to Nigeria, but says they need to focus on their upcoming clashes. “The performance in the first-half was very poor, and that’s the truth, we weren’t on the pitch,” Queiroz told the Media after the game. “We only started playing in the second-half. There’s no clear reason behind this failure and defeat against Nigeria. “We lost this match but there are still six points up for grabs against Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in order to qualify from the group,” he concluded. With this win Nigeria sit on top of Group D as they wait to see the final result between Sudan and Guinea-Bissau tonight. Egypt have no other choice but to win against Guinea-Bissau next Saturday, before facing Sudan in the final round four days later.