Nigeria stalls against Equatorial Guinea. The two teams played out a goalless draw. A huge under-performance by the Super Eagles, who can now look back on many missed opportunities with regret.
There was no winner between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea in Group A of the AFCON 2023. The two teams played out a goalless draw. Nigeria dominated, but were unable to overcome Nzalang National. The Super Eagles were taken by surprise in the first half. Equatorial Guinea opened the scoring in the 36th minute.Ivan Salvador curled a shot past Super Eagles goalkeeper Nwabali. But the response was swift.
Victor Osimhen put Nigeria back on track (38th). From Ademola Lookman's cross at the far post, the Napoli striker headed the ball into the net. It was Osimhen's first goal at a AFCON finals. Nigeria missed several opportunities to double their lead. Served up on the left, Moses Simons crossed his shot to the near post, but Equato-Guinean goalkeeper Jesus Ngua pulled off a fine save. The two teams returned to the locker room level at 1-1.
Nigeria come up against Nzalng's defensive solidity
In the second half, the Super Eagles had numerous chances but failed to break the deadlock. They came up against Nzalang goalkeeper Ngua, who was impressive in this match. Thrown deep, Osimhen missed his one-on-one. He closes his foot too tightly and misses his shot. The Nigerians continued to press forward, but came up against the defensive solidity of Ivan Edu's team-mates. The two teams neutralized each other. Côte d'Ivoire are now alone at the top of Group A of the AFCON 2023 with 3 points.
