In what is generally regarded as a piece of good news for Nigerians to begin the weekend, the Super Eagles dismissed their awful draw result with Equatorial Guinea on Sunday to record a win against the host country at the ongoing AFCON yesterday. In a Group A match at the Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria secured a 1-0 victory over Cote d’Ivoire. William Troost-Ekong, the captain of Nigeria’s national team, scored the winning goal from a penalty in the second half. The penalty was awarded after a VAR check following a foul on Victor Osimhen. With this win, Nigeria earned their first victory in the group stage after drawing 1-1 against Equatorial Guinea in their opening match. Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea are currently tied at the top of Group A with four points each, while Cote d’Ivoire sits behind them with three points. Guinea-Bissau has already been eliminated from the tournament after suffering defeats in both of their games. Cote d’Ivoire must defeat Equatorial Guinea in their final match to ensure progression, while Nigeria only needs to avoid defeat against Guinea-Bissau to secure a top-two finish. The match attracted a crowd of 49,517 spectators, which was significantly higher than the turnout for the hosts’ previous game.
