Nigeria, Egypt on the road to new beginnings

Two of Africa's football giants have suffered a humiliating spell on Football's scrapheap, failing to make the African Cup of Nations, and forced into a rebuilding process as a result.

Both have changed coaches, practically changed players and are retooling from the ground up.

Tune-up duels over the preceding months have sharpened their edges somewhat, but a meeting of these two fallen giants will provide a barometer for Stephen Keshi and Bob Bradley to measure the progress of their respective forces.

Both have picked solely domestic league professionals, although that has almost always been par for the course as far as Egypt is concerned. For Nigeria, it is virgin territory.

Where Keshi's home lads have shown granite-forged character in the past, Egypt will provide a more rigorous examination of their progress under Keshi than previous others.

In Ejike Uzoenyi, The Super Eagles have a natural wide player with acceleration and artifice while the likes of Godfrey Oboabona weigh in with steel.

Bradley has sweet-talked both Mohammed Aboutreila and Esam El Hadary out of retirement and expects their experience to provide guidance to his younger iteration of Pharaohs.

There will be no points at stake at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, but there will certainly be big points to be made. On both sides.

Kick-off is at 5pm Nigeria time.