Making their 19th appearance at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria were bidding for a fourth title at the continental football showpiece – but it was not meant to be.
Captained by Moses Simon and led by Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, Nigeria made it all the way to the final and were just one win away from adding to their triumphs from 1980, 1994 and 2013.
The Super Eagles lost the final on Sunday (11 February) 2-1 to hosts Côte d’Ivoire.
Nigeria are in Group A of this year’s AFCON alongside Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and hosts Côte d’Ivoire.
They drew 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea in their opener with African Footballer of the Year Osimhen scoring seconds after Ivan Salvador put the underdogs in front.
And the points were shared after Osimhen missed a great chance 15 minutes from time.
The Super Eagles found their winning ways by narrowly defeating Côte d’Ivoire in their secnd game thanks to a converted penalty by William Troost-Ekon in the 55th minute.
Nigeria advanced to the knockout rounds after a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau that saw an own goal from Opa Sangante.
The Super Eagles continued their winning run defeating Cameroon 2-0 to go through to the quarter-finals where they met Angola, notching a 1-0 with to advance to the semis.
With a dramatic, penalty kick victory in their semi-final match against South Africa, Nigeria advanced to the AFCON finals where they lost to Côte d’Ivoire.
Discover all of Nigeria’s results, scores and standings below.
Source link : https://olympics.com/en/news/africa-cup-of-nations-2023-nigeria-results-scores-and-standings
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Publish date : 2024-02-11 08:00:00
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