Egypt 'benefited a lot' from Nigeria friendly, says coach Javier Aguirre

Egypt coach Javier Aguirre is 'satisfied' with his team's performance in spite of suffering defeat to Nigeria.

Paul Onuachu's goal few seconds into the match made the difference in a keenly-contested friendly, as the Super Eagles ran out 1-0 victors at the Stephen Keshi Stadium.

Almost decided on players who would represent the Pharaohs at the African Cup of Nations in June on home turf , most of the names on Aguirre's 25-man list for March games against Niger and Gernot Rohr's men had little or no national team experience.

However, a draw in Niamey last week and a loss in Asaba - the Argentine tactician all but disappointed with Tuesday's result - were all the experimental side could muster.

“I am satisfied with the team’s performance against a strong team [Nigeria],” Aguirre said.

“The whole match was a balanced one, except the early few minutes that saw us concede, however, our players restored the balance quickly and were a stiff opponent for the hosts.

“We have benefited a lot from the game as we tried a number of fresh faces amid our strategy to strengthen the team ahead of the 2019 Afcon,” he concluded.