Nigeria Super Eagles are back in contention to top Group A after defeating AFCON 2023 hosts Ivory Coast 1-0 on Thursday.
A penalty from captain William Troost-Ekong in the 54th minute was all the Eagles needed for the win and the three points.
Coach José Peseiro changed his formation to a 3-4-3 to match the Elephants, bringing in Calvin Bassey as the third centre-back while Samuel Chukwueze replaced Moses Simon on the right flank.
The Eagles were solid defensively and Victor Osimhen had an early scoring opportunity, which he missed.
Coach José Peseiro’s 3-4-3 formation effectively overloaded the midfield to counteract the Elephants’ midfield trio of Seko Fofana, Ibrahim Sangare and Franck Kessie. The use of Ola Aina and Zaidu Sanusi as full-backs hampered that midfield and helped Nigeria counter-attack.
The first half was a physical contest, with the Eagles winning more of the 50-50 contests. Stanley Nwabali saved Sanusi’s blushes after a weak back pass in the eighth minute.
In the 21st minute, the Eagles’ lax defense allowed Evan Ndicka to shoot. His shot went straight at Nwabali.
Chukwueze’s shot was blocked by Ghislain Konan on a corner kick a minute later, as the Eagles continued to bother the Elephants on counterattacks. Just before that opportunity, Troost-Ekong had intercepted a pass and initiated the attack that led to Chukwueze’s opportunity.
Nwabali’s palms were stung by a long-range shot from Seko Fofana in the 30th minute. In the second minute of added time, Chukwueze failed to pick the right pass.
The second half was barely nine minutes old when Ousmane Diomande fouled Osimhen in the area. The intervention of the VAR was necessary for the penalty to be awarded.
Ekong stepped forward and shot straight down the middle, with Yahia Fofana diving to his left. Osimhen wasted another scoring opportunity in the 62nd minute when he headed in a long shot from Aina.
The Eagles stood firm and gave the Elephants no scoring opportunities, not even in the additional nine minutes.
Osimhen was named Man of the Match, with Nigeria now second behind Equatorial Guinea in Group A. Ivory Coast are third in the table and need a positive result in their final match against Equatorial Guinea.