The Nigerian Super Eagles won their second Group A match against Cote d’Ivoire with a lone goal.
The match was played at the Olympic Stadium in Ebimpé.
Both Nigeria and Ivory Coast failed to score in the first half.
Victor Osimhen missed a good chance to give Jose Peseiro’s side the lead in the first half as he kicked the ball over the bar following a fine through pass from Samuel Chukwueze.
However, in the second half, Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong gave Nigeria the lead via a powerful penalty.
The match eventually ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles.
The result moved Peseiro’s side to second position in Group A with four points from two games.
Ivory Coast are in third position with 3 points from the same number of games.
Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea are on top of the group with goals difference ahead of Nigeria, while Guinea-Bissau are in fourth position with no point.
Nigeria will now face Guinea-Bissau in their last group game in the coming days.
The Eagles were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute after Victor Osimhen was brought down in the Ivorian defence box.
Defender William Troost-Ekong converted the spot kick to earn the Eagles three points.
It may be recalled that the Ivorien Government had declared Thursday [today] a public holiday for all schools in the country.
The holiday was not unconnected to the Group A second match of the host nation in the ongoing 2023 TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations tournament against the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan on Thursday.
This is because the government wants citizens of the francophone country to be well-prepared and offer their full support to the Elephants of Ivory Coast, as they prepared for the match.
A source who resides in Cote d’Ivoire affirmed the government’s directive, saying, “Yes, all public sectors included. Half working day for banks only.”
Cote d’Ivoire started their AFCON campaign with a 2-0 victory over Guinea Bissau, while Nigeria was held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their opening game.
Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire had met six times in the AFCON, with two wins for each country and two draws.
