Nigeria scrapped out a win in their final group A contest to qualify for knockout phase, thanks to a first-half own-goal by Opa Sangante
Which was the saving grace that helped Nigeria book their seat at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), knockout stages in what was a very tough 1-0 victory against a spirited Guinea-Bissau side seeking their first ever win at the tournament.
Nigeria faced the already eliminated Guinea Bissau, who having never lost all three games in the AFCON group stages, 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, as the game gets towards half time, Victor Osimhen came close to a second goal with a missed sharp 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 tensed drama continued until the end, with the Super Eagles ultimately claiming a victory in what was their 100th AFCON appearance to confirm a second-placed finish behind Group A leaders Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau now out of the competition without a single point to remain Winless for the fourth time in succession -a streak of 12 games without winning.
