“Nigeria’s number 3 seems too old” – Egypt coach points accusing fingers at Flying Eagles

The North African giants are hosting the 17th edition of the championship, but they have been knocked out after failing to win any game during the group stage

Egypt goalkeeping coach Ehab Galal has accused Nigeria of presenting several over-aged players at the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Hosts Egypt crashed out of their tournament after drawing one and losing two of their three first-round matches to finish joint-bottom of Group A.

The Young Pharaohs lost 0-1 to Nigeria after finding no answers to Solomon Agbalaka's towering second-half header on matchday two.

And the Egyptians' World Cup dream was extinguished after suffering a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Senegal on gameday three.

But Ehab Galal, also on the coaching crew of Egypt's U-20 team, is convinced that Nigeria and Senegal only defeated the Young Pharaohs because they paraded players with falsified ages.

Calling out Agbalaka (Flying Eagles number three) and Senegal's goalkeeper Landing Badji, Galal insists that the major reason for Egypt's early exit from the AFCON U-20 was their opponent's underhand tactics.

What has been said? 

“Most African teams have players who are over the age required to be able to play this competition,” Galal told Wiwsports.

“These teams have many players with fake ages. The Senegalese goalkeeper, for example, seems older, as well as Nigeria's number 3 player (Agbalaka) who seems too old, and other players from Nigeria.”

Interestingly, both Agbalaka and Badji were included in CAF's official Team of the Group Stage.

After accusing Agbalaka and Badji of being older than their presented ages, Galal, however, admits that insufficient preparation on the part of Egypt was another reason the Young Pharaohs, runners-up at the 2022 Arab Cup U-20, performed so poorly on home soil.

Galal said, “The African Cup is completely different from the Arab Championship in terms of strength. The players entered the tournament late, especially since the national team did not play many matches to prepare before its start.”

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football, CAF, has named Nigeria’s Flying Eagles as the winner of the Group Stage Fair Play award at the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Egypt.