Super Eagles Trash AFCON Host, Côte d’Ivoire 1-0

The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Thursday trashed the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) host, Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire 1-0 in their second group game.

At the Ebimpe Olympics stadium, the match ignited a long-time rivalry between the two countries, which was crucial to their qualifying group stage, due to a 4-2 victory by Equatorial Guinea against Guinea-Bissau earlier in the day.

But Super Eagles’s captain, Williams Troost-Ekong pulled through in 55 minutes and scored a lone goal via penalty kick.

This decided the victory for Jose Peseiro-led team which held a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening match.

Peseiro adopted a tactical change by deploying a 5-4-1 formation against Cote d’Ivoire, which was a tweak from the 4-4-3 formation he used in the first match.

The 5-4-1 formation led to the introduction of central defender, Calvin Bassey, who was paired alongside Williams Troost-Ekong.

Also in the midfield, Frank Onyeka replaced Alhassan Yusuf, who sustained injuries during the first match against Equatorial Guinea.

The 5-4-1 formation against Cote d’Ivoire saw the Super Eagles struggle to have more attack at their opponents’ home, as Victor Oshimen was left bare.

However, 10 minutes into the match, Nigeria had an opportunity to take the lead, but Osimhen’s effort went wide.

A few minutes later, the host nation Cote d’Ivoire responded with attacks, but their attempts met the firm resilience of the Super Eagles defence.

After a series of football skills by both teams, the Super Eagles midfielders lacked composure, allowing their opponents to gain possessions.

The first half ended without clinical chances by either team.

But the resumption of the second half saw the Super Eagles increase the match’s tempo in search of goal.

The intense pressure gained momentum as the centre referee awarded Nigeria a penalty after a review of the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) of an attack on Oshimen, who was kicked on his leg by Cote D’Ivoire defender, Evan Didomande.

William Troost-Ekong stepped up to take the penalty, giving the Super Eagles the lone goal, that earned the team the maximum three points.

In the 71 minutes, the Super Eagles coach brought in Moses Simon and Kenneth Omeruo to replace Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman to strengthen the defence.

Paul Onuachu also replaced Victor Osimhen.

Ten minutes before the end of the full-time, the Super Eagles had a couple of opportunities but lacked the technical ability to convert the chances to goals.

The match ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles, gaining a maximum of three points to stay in second position with four points in Group A.

Nigeria is expected to play its third-round group-stage match against Guinea-Bissau on Monday, January 22, 2024.

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