In a hot and humid match on Sunday in Abidjan, Nigeria was unable to convert their dominance into a win, resulting in a 1-1 tie against Equatorial Guinea in their opening Africa Cup of Nations Group A game. Despite Victor Osimhen’s goal in the first half, Nigeria was unable to secure all three points.
Despite being outplayed, Iban Salvador managed to score a sudden goal for Equatorial Guinea through a skillful play. However, their lead was short-lived as Napoli striker Osimhen equalized for Nigeria with a header just two minutes later.
Afterwards, the Super Eagles team had control, but they struggled to score against the skilled Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper, Jesus Owono, who made multiple impressive saves. This was also due to some subpar attempts at scoring.
The game started off slow, but suddenly became exciting with two goals scored within two minutes right before halftime.
In the 36th minute, Equatorial Guinea scored the first goal with a great shot by Salvador after Nigeria’s Zaidu Sanusi failed to score from an open goal opportunity. The cross from the right side was missed by everyone and landed in Sanusi’s possession, but his shot was off target and went high and wide.
Nigeria’s hesitant defense prevented them from clearing the ball, and when José Machín set up Salvador 18 yards from the goal, he calmly scored a goal in the bottom corner.
However, the lead was short-lived as Nigeria quickly responded. Ademola Lookman delivered a cross from the left side to the back post, where Osimhen was left unmarked and easily headed the ball into the net, scoring his 21st goal for the national team.
Moses Simon attempted a low shot that seemed to be heading for the bottom corner, but Owono made a good save. The teams went into halftime with a 1-1 score.
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After the game resumed, Sanusi missed yet another great opportunity for Nigeria by shooting directly at the goalkeeper. Then, Osimhen had a chance to score but his shot went wide of the near post as the keeper was moving towards the far post.
The result will be seen as a missed opportunity for the Super Eagles, who have received harsh feedback following their 1-1 ties against smaller teams Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifiers in November. Their upcoming match will be against Ivory Coast, while Equatorial Guinea will face Guinea-Bissau.
Source: theguardian.com
