Egypt opened their African Cup of Nations title defense with a 3-1 victory over the Super Eagles in Group C, despite missing the Ahli talisman.

Treika, who is nursing a foot injury, said he guessed a 3-0 victory for the Pharaohs.

"Three days before the match, I told my Ahli mates that we'll win by three clean goals," the ever-smiling star told Ahli's official site.

"I guess I only missed on the exact scoreline because of the Nigeria goal."

Meteb and Hassan calls

Abou-Treika praised Emad Meteb and Ahmed Hassan, who both played a pivotal role in the victory, stressing that he called the Ahli duo to congratulate them after the match

"I called Meteb to congratulate him after the game because I think he had a difficult time with injuries recently and he needed this goal (first goal)," Treika added.

"I also congratulated Hassan. He proved to be a real leader on the pitch, playing an excellent game and scoring a great goal for Egypt."