THE Super Eagles of Nigeria wasted several chances today as they got their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) campaign off to a disappointing start with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Indeed, it was Equatorial Guinea that drew first blood through Iban Salvador before a quick response from Victor Osimhen earned the Super Eagles a share of the points.
Three-time African champions Nigeria started brightly, cutting through the Equatorial Guinea defence with Alex Iwobi running the midfield.
They could have taken the lead during that period of early dominance but Zaidu Sanusi and Osimhen put their efforts wide from decent scoring positions.
After weathering that early storm, Equatorial Guinea grew into the game and deservingly took the lead in the 36th minute.
The feisty Salvador, who could have been yellow carded earlier for pulling back Zaidu by his shorts, finished a fine team move, placing the ball beyond the reaches of goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili from inside the Super Eagles box.
The response from the Super Eagles was instant, African Footballer of the Year Osimhen leaping high to head home his first-ever AFCON goal from point-blank range after good work from Ademola Lookman on the left flank.
The Super Eagles were much more dominant in the second half but they fluffed all their chances, the best ones falling to Sanusi and Osimhen.
The biggest miss was the one-on-one that fell Osimhen’s way in the 76th minute, but with the whole Alassane Outtara Stadium waiting for the net to ripple, the Napoli striker somehow screwed his shot wide with only the Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper to beat.
Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro made several changes in an attempt to get the winning goal, bringing on Samuel Chukwueze and Joe Aribo for the ineffective Moses Simon and injured debutant Alhassan Yusuf, but there was no effect.
Calvin Bassey and Bright Osayi-Samuel were also introduced in place of Sanusi and Ola Aina in a befuddling change of full-backs that had no impact on the course of the game.
With this result, the Super Eagles are joint-second in Group A behind leaders Cote d’Ivoire, who beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in last night’s opening match.
Next up for the Super Eagles is a heavyweight clash against hosts Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday.
