The Super Eagles gave a good account of themselves but the Egyptians were too hot for them to handle as they lost the tie inside the El Nasri Stadium in Dubai.
Nigeria took the lead in the 13th minute through Sunday Mba, after he was set up by Uche Kalu of Enyimba.
Egypt equalised in the 25th minute when midfielder Ahmed Temsah cashed in on a defensive mix-up between centre halves Azubuike Egwuekwe and Papa Idris.
The Pharaohs then shot into the lead on 33 minutes courtesy of a penalty kick converted by Mohamed Aboutrika after full back Juwon Oshaniwa fouled an Egyptian player inside the box.
The Eagles made it 2-2 in the 42nd minute through a cheeky back-heel effort by an impressive Kalu from an Ejike Uzoenyi corner kick.
It earlier looked like a sweet reward for the Eagles as they mounted pressure on their Egyptian opponents.
And, just when it seemed there would be no more goals in the game, Egypt grabbed the winner in stoppage time through Ahmed Hassan Mekki following an error in the Eagles defence.
Egypt paraded their top stars like Aboutrika, Hossam Ghaly, Hossam Ashour with Sunderland ace Ahmed Elmohamady starting from the bench after his English club released him to join his country’s team.
Meanwhile, Eagles boss, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has heaped praises on his players following their gallant display against the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Addressing the players after the match, Big Boss Keshi said despite the frustrating display by the referee, the team showed character, grit and concentration till the last whistle.
“The referee… if he has a conscience, should know that he robbed us, because we had a penalty that was not given and the last goals looked questionable but like I told you I expected this type of officiating. “Pick yourself up and lets get set for the next round of games”, he told the players.
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