Austine Eguavoen has revealed the tactical plan that saw his Super Eagles side earn a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Egypt in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s beautifully struck volley in the 30th minute was enough to see Nigeria come out on top in the Group D opener at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.
Read Also: AFCON 2021: Three Players Who Must Step Up In The Absence Osimhen And Ighalo
Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah was entirely locked down, with little to show for his 90-minute effort as Nigeria smothered the Pharaohs’ attack.
“We respect them (Egypt) but we also have players that need to be respected. The challenge was on our minds,” Eguavoen told the media after the match.
“We tried to cut Salah off the ball and tried to play high pressure at every minute in time. And we know we can mix up with ball possession and go direct when necessary.
“We had three things in mind; first was to win the game and how do we win the game. The process is keeping the ball and then keeping Salah quiet, we tried to cut him off the game.”
Eguavoen gave assurance that Nigeria won’t take any game for granted as the Eagles go in search of a fourth AFCON gold medal in Cameroon.
“We are going to approach every game like it’s a final. We are going to take it game after game and see where we get to. Every team that has come to the AFCON should be respected.
“If you don’t plan well and you don’t put in the effort you can be shocked. I don’t know who’s going to win the AFCON but we will try in our own ways to approach every game with all seriousness.”
Nigeria take on Sudan on Saturday in their next group encounter.
