Egypt Were Lucky To Score In Kaduna- Hector Cuper

Egypt head coach, Hector Cuper, has said that his side's equaliser on Friday against the Super Eagles last Friday was a reward for their performance.

Roma's Mohammed Salah scored a last minute goal to deny

Nigeria all three points, to keep the three time Afcon champions two points behind the pharaohs in Group G.

"I can't deny that we were lucky to score the equaliser against Nigeria, but it was a reward for our performance through the whole match," Cuper told Egyptian reporters after the match.

The draw will put the Pharaohs in a comfortable position before they host the Super Eagles in the second leg of the encounter in Borg El-Arab Stadium in Alexandria on Tuesday.

"Nigeria is a strong team with excellent players who have a winning mentality as they play for big European clubs," Cuper explained further.

"We delivered an outstanding performance in the first half, but we had some faults in the second and we didn't maintain the same level. We will work to amend these mistakes in the coming period.

Egypt sit on top of the table with seven points with Nigeria in second place with five points and with only the leader of the group guaranteed automatic qualifications for next year’s Nations Cup finals in Gabon.

The Argentinian boss claimed he was aware of the situations Egypt are in but assured that the weather would not be against them in the return leg in Alexandria.

"Some players were exhausted due to the hot weather and bad pitch, and I admit that we were late in our substitutions.

"The whole team should be thanked for their performance amid these hard circumstances," the former Valencia and Inter Milan boss concluded

Egypt have not qualified for the Nations Cup since they last won it in 2010 and would want to be in Gabon after missing out on three consecutive tournaments. Goal