Nigeria enjoyed a successful if unspectacular campaign in Group A at the AFCON, coming home in second spot behind surprise table-toppers Equatorial Guinea to safely advance into the Round of 16.
The Super Eagles opened their tournament with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea on January 14, with Victor Osimhen scoring an equalising goal shortly after Nzalang Nacional had taken the lead.
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Jose Peseiro’s side then followed that up with their key result, a 1-0 win over host nation Cote d’Ivoire on January 18 which was decided by a second-half penalty from defender William Troost-Ekong.
Nigeria still needed a solid result in their final group game on January 22 against Guinea-Bissau to guarantee progression and they got exactly that, defeating the Djurtus 1-0 via an own goal from Opa Sangante.
A record of seven points from a possible nine is an excellent return for the Super Eagles (though notably not enough to take spot) and they will gear themselves for a Round of 16 clash in Abidjan on January 27 against the runners-up of Group C, likely to be Guinea or Cameroon.
“I have said I want to win AFCON even though my contract says I should get to the final,” said Peseiro. “It would be better to protect myself and not create expectations because if I don’t win, it is worse for me. But I put my mind and the mind of my players that we want to win.”
