Nigeria has kicked off the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast with a draw against Equatorial Guinea, a 1-1 score in their Group A campaign.
Equatorial Guinea were the first to hit the net at the 36-minute through Iban Salvador, with Super Eagles start Victori Osimhen cancelling Equatorial’s goal two minutes later, before halftime.
How Nigeria fared at AFCON 2024 match opener
Despite having good control of the game, the Super Eagles could not salvage a winning goal.
Osimhen seemed lively into the continent tournament’s first match, however, the wasted chances and opportunities by the Super Eagles cost them to settle for spoils with one of the smallest nations in the continent.
Nigeria being among the Giant football in Africa, won their last African Cup of Nations AFCON a decade ago, and in 2021 in Cameroon, they were knocked out of the tournament at the round of 16.
Super Eagles’ frustrations kick in despite being among the top contenders for this year’s title, the wasteful chances diminish the Eagles’ run to dethrone the current continent champion’s Senegal.
Speaking after the match, the head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro left Nigerians in shock at his post-match saying they call on God.
“God gives and God takes, hopefully, God gives us the match.”Jose Peseiro said.
The shared spoilt placed Nigeria in position three after Equatorial Guinea. The host Ivory Coast is on top of the table in Group A, after beating Guinea Bissau 2-0 in the opening match on Saturday evening.
The Eagles of Nigeria cannot afford to miss a win against the host Ivory Coast when they meet on Thursday 18th, while Guinea Bissau meets with Equatoria Guinea on the same day.
Other AFCON 2024 match results
Other matches played in group B on Sunday were Egypt and Mozambique where also points were shared equally, which is a win for the Mozambique side, who have neither won against Egypt in their last three meet-ups.
Pharaoh’s goal was scored in the second minute by Mostafa Mohamed in the first half. The second half seemed to be tough for the Egyptians who were frustrated by Mozambique scoring two goals in less than 5 minutes. The two scored in the 55th and 58th minute were scored by Witness Quembo and Clesio Bauque respectively.
A late goal saved the shame of the Pharaohs at the 90+7 minute with a penalty score from Liverpool’s top scorer Mohamed Salah, after a faulty play against Egypt’s Mohamed from Edmilson Macandza, which dimmed the hopes of Mozambique securing their first-ever AFCON win.
The Pharaoh just like Nigeria earned a point each. Like the Super Eagles, the Pharaohs have to win their next match against Ghana’s Black Stars.
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