Nigeria seal crucial win over AFCON host Ivory Coast

Nigeria took a huge step towards reaching the last 16 at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast in Group A.

The match’s key moment came in the 55th minute after Ousmane Diomande caught Victor Osimhen in the box.

That allowed William Troost-Ekong to blast home from the penalty spot.

Roared on by a raucous crowd, the Ivorians pushed hard for an equaliser but failed to create a clear chance against a solid Super Eagles defence.

Nigeria leapfrog the Elephants to go second in Group A and are behind leaders Equatorial Guinea, who beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2 earlier on Thursday, on head-to-head record.

The Ivorians have three points after two games and will now need to beat Equatorial Guinea on Monday (17:00 GMT) to guarantee progress to the knockout stage.

Nigeria – whose four points could already be enough to see the three-time winners through – face Guinea-Bissau (17:00 GMT) in their final Group A fixture.