Ekong’s penalty secures Nigeria’s first win in Cote d’Ivoire

The Super Eagles of Nigeria bounced back from their shock draw opener against Equatorial Guinea to secure their first win in the ongoing AFCON 2023 against host nation: Cote d’Ivoire.

FULL-TIME STATISTICS

Cote d’Ivoire 0-1 Nigeria

William Troost-Ekong's 56th minute penalty wins it for the Super Eagles.#AFCONWithMIAS#AFCON2023 #CAN2023#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/38qar6B4NX

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) January 18, 2024

The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire were coming from an impressive 2-0 curtain raiser win against Guinea Bissau but got a quick reality check within the opening 60 seconds, when Nigeria’s talisman—Victor Osimhen broke free from his markers, before shooting his first attempt wide off target.

Cote d’Ivoire were also presented with their opening opportunity when Zaidu Sanusi’s mistake gave Christian Kouamé a chance at goal—an effort Stanley Nwabili saved to keep Nigeria’s qualification hopes alive.

The rest of the first half saw both sides playing it safe, as they invested more defensively, seeing the game enter the break in a deadlock.

However, the Super Eagles got their goal about 10 minutes into the second half when Osimhen was brought down inside the box by Ousmane Diomande. The Napoli’s striker in an unexpected turn of events didn’t step up to take the spot-kick, and William Troost-Ekong stepped up to fire the setpiece past Yahia Fofana to make it 1-0.

The scoreline remained unchanged despite Jean-Louis Gasset’s five changes, as the result further blows Group A open with one fixture to go.

🇳🇬 Victor Osimhen 🇳🇬

Nigeria's superstar is your TotalEnergies Man of the Match! 🌟 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | #CIVNGR | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/SKogEe0BOc

— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 18, 2024

The win takes Nigeria to second on four points—closely behind Equatorial Guinea who are on first due to their goal difference, having defeated Guinea Bissau, who seem to be the whooping boys of the group 4-2, earlier.

Ivory Coast who’re currently third now faces an uphill task of facing the Group’s surprise leader—Equatorial Guinea in their quest for the maximum points, while the Super Eagles will face winless Guinea Bissau to seal their qualification into the next stage of the competition.