Nigeria Held to Draw in African Cup Opener

Nigeria‘s Victor Osimhen scored a first-half equalizer but was unable to secure a win as Nigeria was held to a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their African Cup of Nations Group A opener. The match took place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Sunday. Despite dominating the chances, Nigeria struggled to convert their pressure into goals.

Equatorial Guinea surprised Nigeria by taking the lead against the run of play with a well-worked goal from Iban Salvador. However, the lead was short-lived as Osimhen headed in the equalizer just two minutes later.

After that, Nigeria continued to dominate the game but was frustrated by the outstanding performance of Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Jesus Owono. Owono made several outstanding saves to deny Nigeria, while the Nigerian team also struggled with poor finishing.

The draw means that Nigeria will now face hosts Ivory Coast in a crucial pool clash. Equatorial Guinea, on the other hand, will face Guinea-Bissau, who lost their opening game against Ivory Coast.