Nigeria vs Egypt: FIFA forces date change for Super Eagles clash against Mo Salah's Pharaohs in pre-AFCON friendly

A surprise directive from FIFA has disrupted the Super Eagles' final preparations ahead of AFCON 2025, forcing a last-minute schedule change for their highly anticipated friendly against Egypt’s Pharaohs.

Originally slated for Sunday, 14 December in Cairo, the clash between seven-time AFCON winners Egypt and three-time champions Nigeria must now be played on Tuesday, 16 December. 

This shift comes after FIFA announced that clubs could retain their players until 15 December 2025, delaying national team call-ups and forcing the postponement of the tune-up fixture.

The friendly, crucial for both teams to finalise tactics and boost morale before the 35th Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, will lose its official friendly status. 

Instead, it has been reclassified as a practice match, allowing both teams to use more than five substitutes, a significant departure from FIFA’s standard rules, with kickoff scheduled for 8 pm local time (7 pm Nigerian time) at Cairo Stadium.

The Super Eagles find themselves in Group C alongside 2004 champions Tunisia, 1978 runners-up Uganda, and Tanzania. 

Nigeria will open their tournament against Tanzania’s Taifa Stars on Tuesday, 23 December at the Complexe Sportif de Fes, before facing Tunisia on 27 December and Uganda on 30 December.

Meanwhile, the Pharaohs, who hosted the tournament in 2019, compete in Group B with 1996 hosts and winners South Africa, 2010 hosts Angola, and Zimbabwe. Egypt's group matches will take place at the Stade d’Agadir.

This unexpected FIFA ruling has cast uncertainty over last-minute preparations for both sides, but offers a chance to evaluate squad options with the flexibility of substitutions before the tournament kick-off.