Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations, defeating Ivory Coast

In the marquee fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations matchday, Ivory Coast clashed with Nigeria. Both teams were placed in Group A, alongside Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

Ivory Coast kicked off the continental tournament at home with a win, while Nigeria played to a draw in their opening match.

The first half was closely contested, evident in the shot statistics favoring the guests at 6-7. The best opportunity to break the deadlock came for the Lyons of Teranga. In the 9th minute, Kuame unleashed a dangerous shot from close range, but Nwabili made an incredible save to deny the goal.

Ten minutes into the second half, the Abidjan stadium fell silent as the referee consulted VAR after Diomande made contact with Osimhen’s leg. The decision did not go in favor of the hosts, and Nigeria was awarded a penalty. Troost-Ekong calmly converted the penalty kick.

Despite the Ivorians’ efforts to salvage the match in front of their home fans, they struggled to create genuine goal-scoring opportunities in the second half against the Super Eagles.

After two rounds, both Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea have accumulated four points each. Ivory Coast has three points, while Guinea-Bissau is yet to secure any points in the tournament.

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AFCON

Group A, Matchday 2

Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria: 0-1

Scorer: Troost-Ekong (penalty) at 55th minute