Egypt edged Guinea-Bissau by a lone goal, here is how that result affects Nigeria in the Group D dynamics.
Egypt bounced back from their 1-0 loss against Nigeria with a win of the same scoreline against Guinea-Bissau to move up to second in Group D.
The game
Mohammed Salah scored the only (allowed) goal of the game, a brilliantly converted half volley from inside the box on the 69th minute proved the difference between both sides.
Egypt were the better team, they dominated possession with 61 per cent, registered 16 goal attempts compared to Guinea-Bissau’s seven and hit the woodwork three times.
Despite the obvious gap in quality between both teams, Guinea-Bissau proved stubborn and made this a difficult game for Egypt.
They in fact scored a goal that was controversially disallowed by the referee upon VAR review. Guinea-Bissau forward, Mama Balde scored a potential goal of the tournament contender in the 82nd minute to send every non-Egyptian in the Roumde Adija stadium into hysterical celebration.
The late equaliser he thought he had scored was soon ruled out for a foul in the buildup which in truth was just a tussle between winger and fullback which Balde won by simply being stronger.
The goal was ruled out and Egypt held on to their lead through the nervy closing moments to secure an important win but how does it affect Nigeria?
How it affects Nigeria
As things stand in Group D, Nigeria sit top with six points, already guaranteed a spot in the next round as group winners. Egypt are second with three points which means the best they can do is to tie Nigeria on six points but then head-to-head will come into play and the Super Eagles’ 1-0 win will be the tiebreaker.
Guinea-Bissau are third with one point but ahead of Sudan on goal difference who also have one point.
This means Guinea-Bissau will come into the last game against Nigeria in a win-or-bust situation. They need a win to total four points and either advance as the second or third-placed team and Nigeria will be standing in the way of that win on Wednesday 19, January 2022.
It might not be a high-stakes situation for Nigeria who have already qualified but they do have the ambition to win every group game, a feat which they have not achieved at the Africa Cup of Nations since 2006.
On the evidence of their first two games, Guinea-Bissau are no pushovers either and will take advantage of any complacency by the Super Eagles.
With the late penalty miss against Sudan and the disallowed equaliser against Egypt, Guinea Bissau could have had four points at this stage if things went their way.
But instead, they have just one point and no goal after two games with their Round of 16 hopes hanging by a thread thanks to a deadly combination of bad luck and their own profligacy.
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