Super Eagles Beat Guinea-Bissau To Qualify For Second Round

…Equatorial Guinea Stun Ivory Coast

The Super Eagles of Nigeria earned a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau to qualify for the second round of the 2023 Nations Cup in Ivory Coast.

Jose Peseiro’s men finished second behind Equatorial Guinea, who defeated Ivory Coast 4-0 to earn the top position in Group A.

The Portuguese manager made four changes to the team that defeated Ivory Coast on Thursday with the likes of Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, Zaidu Sanusi and William Troost-Ekong missing out of the starting 11.

The changes did little to affect the team as they started well in the encounter but found the Guinea-Bissau team hard to break down.

The Super Eagles finally broke the deadlock in the 37th minute courtesy of an own goal by Opa Sangante.

The defender turned in Moses Simon’s cross which was intended for Victor Osimhen into his own net.

The second half was more interesting as both sides had their goals ruled out for a combination of offside and foul.

Victor Osimhen’s header failed to hit back of the net in the 78th minute following a sublime cross from Ola Aina.

Zinho Gano’s powerful effort was ruled out for a foul on Semi Ajayi late in the second half.

Substitute Zaidu Sanusi was also on the score sheet for the Super Eagles in the 82nd minute but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Guinea-Bissau kept probing for an equaliser but Nigeria held on to earn a vital win that sealed their place in the second round of the competition.

Nigeria had only one shot on target in the encounter but Jose Peseiro will be delighted that they achieved their first objective.

Equatorial Guinea finished top of Group A, scoring nine goals and conceding three goals with seven points, while the Super Eagles came second with three goals scored and one conceded with the same number of points.

Hosts nation, Ivory Coast finished third with a paltry three point, scoring two goals and conceding five and they face an anxious wait to know if they will qualify as one of the best losers when the first round games are completed.