Thunder at the AFCON 2023.Côte d'Ivoire, the competition's host country, is all but eliminated. The Elephants collapsed against Equatorial Guinea (4-0), while Nigeria beat Guinea-Bissau. Both the national Nzalang and the Super Eagles are through to the knockout.
Equatorial Guinea knock out Côte d'Ivoire
As in 1984, Côte d'Ivoire are on the brink of elimination from the first round of their AFCON. The Elephants were powerless against Nzalang Nacional (4-0). Beaten by Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire had to win this match. But Ivan Edu's team-mates didn't make it easy for the Ivorians. They even surprised the AFCON 2023 hosts at the end of the first half. Emilio Nsue opened the scoring taking advantage of the Elephants' defensive frailties, Akapo wriggled his way through the heart of the Ivorian defence before calmly feeding Nsue, who put the ball in the back of the net (42nd). With their backs against the wall, the Ivorians tried to react. They even thought they had equalised when Ibrahima Sangaré headed home Kouamé's cross from Pépé. But after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for offside.
It’s an Emilio Nsue magical moment 🪄🇬🇶#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 l @NzalangNacional pic.twitter.com/6dl5uTJ1hG
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 22, 2024
Côte d'Ivoire collapse in the second half
In the second half, the Ivorians were pushed around by the Equatorial Guineans. The latter just missed doubling their lead. From 30 meters out, Coco sent in a powerful shot that Fofana pushed away with his thigh (54th). The Ivorians tried to react. But Kouamé missed a huge opportunity. Facing the keeper alone after a poor clearance by the Ivorian defence, he came up against keeper Owono. Worse still, Côte d'Ivoire were denied a second goal for Krasso's illegal position (64th). The Ivorians were still in for a surprise. They collapsed at the end of the match, conceding two goals. Pablo Ganet found the top corner of Fofana's net from 25 yards out and from the left (73rd). Nsue scored twice on the counter-attack (76th), his 5th goal of the AFCON. After another counter-attack, Fofana pushed away Equatorial Guinea's first shot. Buyla followed up well to crucify the hosts. Thanks to this comprehensive win, Equatorial Guinea finish top of the group with 7 points ahead of Nigeria.
Nigeria get the better of Guinea-Bissau
Victorious against Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria showed no signs of wavering against Guinea Bissau.Dominant, the Super Eagles opened the scoring in the 36th minute.Under pressure from Osimhen, the unfortunate Sanganté inadvertently pushed Aribo's cross into his own net (36th). In the second half, Victor Osimhen thought he had doubled his team's lead, but an offside position at the start denied him the second goal.Despite their dominance, Nigeria had to settle for 1-0.Enough to qualify for the second round.
