AFCON 2023: Ekong converts as Nigeria spoil the Cote D’Ivoire party

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In a thrilling match that brought together two highly regarded West African teams, Nigeria’s Super Eagles announced their presence among the favorites to win the continental tournament by getting the better of the host nation Cote d’Ivoire in an action-compact clash of West African titans.

With both teams putting pressure on the other end to mark their desire to make it out of the group stages, the West African rivals ended the first half in a goalless yet intense draw.

The second half started on a high for the Super Eagles of Nigeria as captain William Troost-Ekong scored from the spot in the 55th minute.

Despite several attempts from the Ivorian team to tie the scoring, the Nigerian Super Eagles maintained a solid backline until the final moments of the game, to finish victorious 1-0 for the first time in this AFCON.

Coming into today’s game on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, the host nation, looked eager to maintain the positive tempo it had set in the opening game.

Yet today’s task proved tougher as the Nigerian Super Eagles looked for their first win following a disappointing 1-1 draw in its group opener against Equatorial Guinea.

In the end, it was Victor Osimhen’s teammates who prevailed as the host nation and the thunderous support from the home crowd proved ultimately unable to get through the Nigerian net.

Indeed, Cote d’Ivoire’s head coach Jean-Louis Gasset had predicted a difficult evening for his team against a Nigerian opposition hungry for its to make amendments for its failed debut.

“Nigeria is a top team, they have good players, some of the best in Africa. You can’t judge them with the first game against Equatorial Guinea,” Gasset stated. And so it proved, with the Ivorians dominating in possession while the Nigerians created more scoring chances and caused more troubles in the Ivorian defense.

Cote d’Ivoire’s next game will be on January 22 against Equatorial Guinea, while Nigeria will face Guinea-Bissau on the same day. As things currently stand, the group’s final games will be defining for the race to qualify for the knockout stages.