Oliseh plays down Egypt’s strength; ‘They are not as good as before’

Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh has expressed confidence on his team winning the crucial 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) double-header in March with the Egyptian national team, the Pharaohs.
While remaining upbeat on securing the maximum points in the clashes, Oliseh said the North Africans are no longer as good as they used to be.
The former Eagles captain is hopeful that a decent preparation ahead of the games in Kaduna and Cairo would give his team a good chance of qualifying for the 2017 AFCON.
“The Egyptian team is far from the one of four years ago. So our chances are bright. We just need to concentrate and try to win for Nigeria.”
The Egyptians had been dominant on the continent over the decades but have practically struggled in the last six years having failed to qualify for the AFCON within this period. They last featured in Angola 2010, where they beat Nigeria 3-1 in the group stage. The Nigerian team, which had been returning to fairly good times, dipped again soon after winning the 2013 AFCON, thus leaving both sides on virtually the same pedestal as the battle for Gabon 2017 continues.
The first leg originally billed for March 23 in Kaduna had been moved to the 26 – a move the coach believes will help the Eagles to prepare in a better fashion.
However, the Egypt Football Association claims it is not aware of any change and will go ahead with the initial plan to play the game on March 23.
“No official letters have been received yet regarding the Nigeria-Egypt game’s rescheduling and we’ll announce when we get confirmation,” EFA board member Ehab Lehitah said.
“Egypt will start a training camp ahead of the qualifiers on February 23, four days before they play Burkina Faso in a friendly in Borg El-Arab Stadium, Alexandria.”
Nigeria are two points behind Egypt in Group G of the qualifiers.