Leicester forward Kelechi Iheanacho displayed a great performance for his national team beating Egypt 1-0 in the AFCON group D opener on Tuesday night.
Iheanacho scored the only goal 30 minutes into the game overcoming the unremarkable Egypt side despite having Liverpool star Mohammed Salah in the squad. The team made sure the Egyptian King was isolated and few balls came his way.
“We had three things in mind; winning, retaining possession and cutting off the supply to Salah,” said the Nigeria coach.
Fulfilling these objectives saw Nigeria dominating the game with Mohammed Salah getting only one chance in the second half only to have the shot saved by Maduka Okoye, Nigeria’s goalkeeper.
Kelechi’s impeccable performance earned him the man-of-the-match award. His goal was the only goal of the day as highly rated premier league stars Riyad Mahrez and Said Benrahma failed to score for the reigning champions, Algeria, against Sierra Leone.
Winger Moses Simon played a major role in the leading goal at the 30,000-capacity staduim.
Other games played yesterday were Sudan against Guinea Bissau and defending champions Algeria, who faced Sierra Leone. Both games ended in a draw.
