It was a dream start to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for hosts Ivory Coast as they avoided the ignominy of becoming the first host nation to lose their opener in this century with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau on Saturday.
Ivorian fans can now dream of becoming the first host nation to lift the trophy since Egypt in 2006, but looking to derail those aspirations next will be opponents here Nigeria.
Jean-Louis Gasset’s side will enter this clash in high spirits and with some solid form under their belts having lost just one of their last 11 matches (W7, D3). Each of the last four wins in succession ahead of this contest came with multi-goal margins, whilst three of those also saw the Elephants keep clean sheets – a feat which will be of great concern to their opponents who need to try and upset the hosts in their own backyard to assert dominance in this group.
That will be easier said than done for Nigeria, who were held to a shock 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening game, with only a Victor Osimhen header sparing their blushes. The three-time AFCON winners know anything less than a victory will leave them at risk of dropping out at the group stages of the tournament for the first time since 1982!
The all-time H2H record between these two great African nations makes it hard to split, with Nigeria just about being edged out (W8, D10, L9), and with none of the last six meetings in an AFCON context being settled by greater than a single-goal margin, a tight affair could ensue here. Nigeria will hope that narrow swing could go their way as they bid to avoid posting their first three-game winless run of AFCON tournament games since 2008-2010.
Players to watch: Ivory Coast captain Franck Kessie extended his personal run of goal-contributing games to three with his assist in his side’s competition curtain raiser (G2, A1). As for Nigeria, Victor Osimhen continued his fine form across club and international duties with his goal in the opener against Equatorial Guinea.
