‘They could have made it to the final’ - Egypt head coach worried about Super Eagles' strength

Nigeria is set to face Egypt in the third-place playoff on Saturday after a dramatic semifinal loss to Morocco. 

The match ended in a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat, where Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved crucial spot-kicks from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi.

The two nations met in a pre-tournament friendly, which Egypt won 2-1. However, Nigeria's coach at the time, Eric Chelle, did not field a full-strength team for that encounter. 

Looking ahead to the bronze medal match, Hassan praised Nigeria's performance throughout the tournament, emphasising how close they came to upsetting the hosts.

"We'll be facing a formidable opponent in Nigeria," Hassan stated during a pre-match press conference. 

"We played a friendly with them before leaving Cairo, which was good preparation. They are a great squad that made it to the semifinals, the last four."

He added, "They could have made it to the final, but things happened otherwise. We are satisfied with our journey and are going to put up a good fight tomorrow. Hopefully, we will win this bronze medal."

The Super Eagles will be looking to continue their impressive record in AFCON third-place matches, having won all seven they have previously contested.

They will face Egypt, who also crashed out against Senegal for a chance to win the bronze medal on Saturday.