Egypt's preparations for the African Cup of Nations received a blow on Saturday as Nigeria cancelled its friendly against Egypt that was set for Monday, the Egyptian FA announced. The Nigerian Football Association (NFA) explained that their national team won't be able to arrive in Egypt in time because they can't gather the European-based players before Monday. Nigeria has offered to play the game on January 12th instead, but this offer is likely to be turned down as Egypt will face South Africa in a friendly on January 14th. This was bad news for Egypt coaching staff who was set to name the final squad for the African Cup, that kicks-off on January 20th, after Nigeria's encounter. "Canceling the game has confused us and negatively affected our preparation schedule," Egypt assistant coach Shawqi Gharib told FilGoal.com. Nigeria's match is the second to be canceled after Ghana's game that was scheduled for last Thursday.
Nigeria The Egyptian FA said they will complain to FIFA over the Nigerian decision to cancel the game. "We will file an official complaint to FIFA because this cancellation damaged our preparation program," FA spokesman Medhat Shalaby said. Meanwhile, FA technical councilor Mohamed Al-Siyagi contacted the South African Football Association (SAFA) to confirm the date of their friendly. SAFA confirmed they will play the game in time and said they will hold a training camp in Egypt until the beginning of the tournament. Egypt play in Group A alongside Morocco, Libya and Ivory Coast while South Africa were drawn in Group C with Tunisia, Guinea and Zambia.
