Nigeria moved up to the second spot in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group A standings after defeating third-placed Ivory Coast 1-0 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Thursday night.
0-15 minutes: It was end-to-end stuff in the opening exchanges with Victor Osimhen firing wide of the target in the eighth minute and Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali denied Christian Kouame with a decent save as the two teams searched for an early goal.
16-30 minutes: The Elephants of Ivory Coast were the better side in terms of keeping their attempts at goal on target. In the 16th minute, Evan Ndicka unleashed a left-footed shot which was saved by Nwabali who was the busier of the two keepers.
31-45 minutes: Seko Fofana, who had scored against Guinea-Bissau on 13 January, decided to try his luck from range in the 31s minute, and his effort was well-saved by Nwabali and the score was 0-0 during the half-time break.
46-60 minutes: Nigeria were awarded a penalty just six minutes into the second-half after Victor Osimhen drew a foul in the box. William Troost-Ekong then stepped up and scored from the spot-kick to hand Nigeria a 1-0 lead.
61-75 minutes: With his side trailing Ivory Coast head coach Jean-Louis Gasset decided to introduce attackers Jonathan Bamba and Nicolas Pepe as the tournament hosts looked to level matters with 23 minutes left on the clock.
76-90 minutes: The Elephants were forced to take shots from range because the Super Eagles’ defence looked solid and impenetrable. Fofana’s effort from range missed the target in the 86th minute and ultimately, the match ended in a 1-0 win in favour of Nigeria.
Ivory Coast 0
Nigeria 1 (Troost-Ekong 51′)
