Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has tipped his side to overtake Egypt when the next round of games are played in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. Eagles had on Saturday shot to the summit of Group G but their temporary leadership lasted for about 24 hours after Egypt whipped Tanzania Cairo 3-0 in Cairo to now occupy the top position.
Like the Eagles, who defeated Chad 2-0, Egypt had to wait till the second half to grind out a 3-0 win against Tanzania, with all the goals coming within a spate of nine minutes. Rami Rabia broke the deadlock in the 61st minute and barely four minutes later, Basem Morsi added the second goal with Fiorentina forward, Mohammed Salah netting the the third in the 70th minute of the encounter.
With three points and three goals, Egypt have the same three points with Nigeria but lead on superior goals difference. The next round of qualifiers comes up in September with Nigeria travelling to Dar es Salaam to battle Tanzania while Egypt face a difficult trip to N’Djamena against Chad.
With the top team in each group qualifying for the tournament due to be hosted by Gabon, Keshi has maintained his confidence in his charges ability to topple Egypt from the summit of Group G.
Speaking in a radio interview, Keshi said “this is just the beginning of the qualifying campaign and I am happy that we started with a win.
The last time we were involved in an opening AFCON qualifying match was against Congo last year and we all remember that it did not end well for us. “But now, we have started with a win and I believe that even though the Egyptians are leading us that we can overtake them after the next were involved in an opening AFCON qualifying match was against Congo last year and we all remember that it did not end well for us.
“But now, we have started with a win and I believe that even though the Egyptians are leading us that we can overtake them after the next matches are played. I know that football is not arithmetic but if we put our house in order and play with determination that we can be the ones setting the pace for others in the group”, added the former AFCON winner and African coach of the year.
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