Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Tuesday in Alexandria failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after a 0-1 loss to the Pharaohs of Egypt.
The loss in their Group G Match Day Three fixture ensured a second consecutive absence for the three-time African champions.
With just one game remaining and only the group winners to qualify, Nigeria cannot make up their five-point deficit to group leaders Egypt who now have seven points.
Ramadan Sobhy’s 65th-minute goal put Egypt in shape for qualification, and added to the misery of Nigeria whose campaign had been fraught with many mishaps from the beginning.
Egypt with only one match to play now visit Tanzania in June and need to do virtually nothing, such as avoiding a 0-4 defeat, to qualify for Gabon.
The East Africans are presently on one point from two matches, and can only upstage the Egyptians if they massively beat the North Africans and Nigeria.
To have any chance of qualification, Tanzania would need to beat Egypt by a better scoreline than the 3-0 defeat they suffered in Egypt last June.
This is because head-to-head records will come into effect, if Tanzania beat Nigeria and they and Egypt finished level on points.
Nigeria will host Tanzania in September, but it is just a fixture for the Eagles, with the full points not going to take them anywhere near Egypt.
Tuesday’s match in Alexandria became an all-or-nothing tie after Chad withdrew from the group on Sunday, citing financial difficulties.
All results from their matches were then erased, putting Nigeria in a more difficult position as that left only three teams in Group G.
In accordance with the rules of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), only the winners would qualify for the finals.
