Nigeria secured their spot in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 after edging out Guinea-Bissau 1-0 at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan.
Opa Sangante scored the winning goal nine minutes before halftime by deflecting a Moses Simon cross into his own net.
Both teams had goals taken away in the second half because the players were not onside, and Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen also had a goal taken away for handball.
The team led by Jose Peseiro came in second place in Group A, behind Equatorial Guinea, which beat the host country Ivory Coast 4-0.
In the round of 16, the Super Eagles will play the second-placed team from Group C. That team could be Senegal, Guinea, or Cameroon.
While this was going on, Bouchra Karboubi became the second woman to referee an Afcon finals game, after Salima Mukansanga in Cameroon two years ago. The Moroccan also made history by leading the first all-female officiating team at the finals.
Guinea-Bissau didn’t have a chance to make it to the next round, but they played well in an exciting game at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium.
In some ways, African Footballer of the Year Osimhen will remember that game badly because he missed all of his chances to score.
The Napoli striker did help score the only goal, though, after Simon made a quick run down the left side.
The winger drilled a low ball into Osimhen’s path. Sangante had to deal with it from seven yards out, but the center-back hit the ball into his own net.
As the first half came to a close, Osimhen missed a good chance when he headed a cross from the left wing wide. In the second half, Nigeria again pushed forward while Guinea-Bissau sat back and lacked attack spark.
After Osimhen missed a cross from Ola Aina by a few minutes, Baciro Cande’s team attacked again, and Dalcio forced Stanley Nwabali to make a low save.
In the 59th minute, Bright Osayi-Samuel sent a cross that Osimhen turned into the net from close range. He thought he had finally scored to double Nigeria’s lead, but the officials saw that he had clearly touched the ball before putting it in.
For the Super Eagles, Alex Iwobi hit a shot wide with his sidefoot. Then, Nwabali had to grab Fali Cande’s dipping free kick, and Nito Gomes headed the resulting corner wide.
In the 83rd minute, Guinea-Bissau forward Franculino scored with a rising shot after making a run through the middle, but the goal was called off for offside. A minute later, Nigeria had another shot saved.
Osimhen took a low shot across goal, but Jonas Mendes saved it. Substitute Zaidu Sanusi scored on the rebound, but earlier in the move, a flag was raised for offside.
Due to Ivory Coast’s shocking loss in the other Group A game, Nigeria would have been happy with a point to move on. However, Jose Peseiro will know that his team needs to be more clinical in attack if the West Africans want to make it further in the tournament.
Photo by Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix
