Izuchukwu OkosiNigeria’s Super Eagles quest of qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivorie were on Friday evening were dented with a 1-0 defeat to the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
The team coached by Jose Peseiro were odds-on favourites to win the game and began the game as the more likely team to claim all three points but the Guinea-Bissau side had other plans and deservedly secured a historic win as that was their first ever win over Nigeria.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAs the game developed, Guinea-Bissau asserted themselves and denied the Nigerian midfield the chances to find talisman, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
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The duo of Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman were particularly profligate when presented with the opportunities to either to supply the crosses or attempt the goal themselves.
Troyes of France striker, Mama Balde, was the scorer of the lone goal at the half hour mark when he latched onto a long pass that beat the offside trap set up by the central defensive pair of Kelvin Akpoguma and Calvin Bassey.
The Eagles created decent scoring chances in the second half but they continued to miss glit-edge chances.
The teams will face off again on Monday in the reverse leg of the fixtures but the Nigerians, have the added pressure of not needing to lose any of their remaining Group A matches in the qualification campaign.
The defeat means the three-time African champions have now lost four consecutive international matches after the defeats to Algeria (2-1), Costs Rica (4-0), Portugal (4-0) and Guinea-Bissau (1-0).
Two teams are expected to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations from the group.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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