Nigeria’s Super Eagles defeated Guinea Bisssau by a lone goal on Monday in their final group fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, to qualify for the Round of 16.
The only goal of the match played at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium came when Opa Sangante diverted a Moses Simon cross into his own net behind goalkeeper Jonas Asvedo Mendes in the 37th minute.
Before then, Nigeria’s striker Victor Osimhen had a fine chance to score in the early minutes of the match when his right-foot shot went slightly past the goal post.
Both teams had goals ruled out in the second half for offside, while Osimhen also had an effort disallowed for handball.
After the goal, Nigeria kept pressure on their opponents in the second half in search of more goals. Samuel Chukwueze missed two one-on-one chances with Jonas Mendes, while in the 59th minute, Osimhen’s effort ended up in the net, but was flagged offside.
The Super Eagles coached by Jose Peseiro finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea, who beat hosts Ivory Coast 4-0. Both Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea finished on seven points, but the latter had a better goal difference.
Nigeria will play the second-placed team in group C in their Round of 16 encounter at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny on Saturday.
