Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: Super Eagles edge past gutsy Djurtus
(AFP) – A first-half own-goal by Opa Sanganté helped Nigeria book their seat at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) knockout stages with a challenging 1-0 victory against a spirited Guinea-Bissau side seeking their maiden win at the tournament.
Having never lost all three games in the AFCON group stages, the already-eliminated Djurtus mounted an impressive resistance to thwart Victor Osimhen and his compatriots, even looking more menacing in the early stages against the three-time AFCON winners.
However, Guinea-Bissau were rocked when Sanganté blasted an attempted clearance against his own goalkeeper, handing Nigeria a fortunate lead. With qualification to the knockout stages at stake, José Peseiro’s men looked comfortable with their one-goal lead heading into the break, with Victor Osimhen coming close to a second goal with a missed header in first-half stoppage time.
An end-to-end encounter ensued after the restart, with both teams having a go at each other at every given opportunity. Before long, Nigeria thought they had doubled their lead, only for referee Bouchra Karboubi to signal handball in the build-up, denying Osimhen a tap-in.
It perhaps wasn’t the SSC Napoli marksman’s day, as he once again spurned a priceless header from point-blank range 12 minutes from FT, giving Baciro Candé’s men some hope of claiming at least a draw.
And without delay, the Djurtus were on the cusp of major celebrations when Franculino was denied a goal due to an offside flag before the same fate welcomed Nigeria at the other end.
The tense drama continued until the end, with the Super Eagles ultimately claiming a victory in their 100th AFCON appearance to confirm a second-placed finish behind Group A leaders Equatorial Guinea. Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau exit the competition without a win for the fourth time in succession – a streak of 12 winless games.
STATISTICS
FULL-TIME STATISTICS
Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria
The Super Eagles marks their 100th appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations with a narrow win over the Djurtus to finish second in Group A.#AFCONWithMIAS#AFCON2023 #CAN2023#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/22BvmNgSWp
— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) January 22, 2024
MAN OF THE MATCH
🇳🇬 Moses Simon 🇳🇬
Sublime performance for the Nigeria star makes him the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 Man Of The Match vs. Guinea-Bissau 👏#GNBNGR | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/zQIxDETIK4
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) January 22, 2024
FINAL GROUP A STANDING
AFCON 2023 Group A
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  E. Guinea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| 2 |  Nigeria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 |  Côte d’Ivoire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| 4 |  Guinea-Bissau | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
