Thunders of Equatorial Guinea clips Super Eagles of Nigeria wings in Group A second match

Posted : 15 January 2024

The National Thunder of Equatorial Guinea, on Sunday at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, clipped the wings of the three-time champions of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 1-1 draw.

Poland-based Ivan Salvador Edu, who received a thorough pass from Pepin, kicked a not too impressive shot that went through a cluster of legs of Nigerian defenders in the 36th minute for the first-ever goal the Thunders would score against Nigeria, serving as a galvanizer of confidence for subsequent matches.

African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, received a telegraphic pass from Ademola Lookman from the left flank and headed it into the net in the 38th minute for an equalizer. Many thought this would usher in an avalanche of goals, but Osimhem missed more than eight glaring opportunities that would have kept the Thunders at bay.

The referee, a 32-year-old South African named Tom Abongile, supervised the hard tackles of the Thunder boys as the Super Eagles failed to overcome Africa's underdog.

Royal Antwerp's player from Belgium, Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi, perhaps the best Nigerian player on the pitch, was hacked down by the Guineans, forcing his substitution off the field as Joe Aribo came in as a replacement in the 69th minute.

Incidentally, match stats show Nigeria was rougher with a 13-11 fouls count; there were 2-1 yellow cards for Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabili, was hardly tested, as Equatorial Guinea only had one shot on target compared to Nigeria’s 7 from 18-7 shots.

Nigeria’s defense played better than in previous outings, but Nigeria’s attackers were not clinical in front of goal. They also need a playmaker to supply balls to Osimhem.

The result means Ivory Coast leads Group A with 3 points and 2 goals; Nigeria is 2nd with one point and a goal; Equatorial Guinea is 3rd with one point and a goal, similar to Nigeria, while Guinea Bissau occupies the bottom with no point and no goal.

Equatorial Guinea faces Guinea Bissau on Thursday, January 18th, at the Olympic Stadium at 3 pm, while at 6 pm, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will test their strength against the Elephants of Ivory Coast at the same venue in the second-round matches of Group A.

Bissau had beaten Nigeria’s Super Eagles 1-0 on March 24th, 2023, in Nigeria, with the goal scored by Balde in the 29th minute. This result is what makes football pundits wonder if this country can beat Nigeria on home soil, why not Equatorial Guinea in Abidjan?

Nigeria, ranked 42nd in the world, is making her 26th appearance at AFCON. She is a three-time champion with some impressive podium finishes. She got Bronze at Ethiopia 76 beating Egypt 3-2; bagged another Bronze in Ghana 78 beating Tunisia 2-0; won in Lagos in 1980 beating Algeria 3-0; got the Silver in three consecutive competitions - Ivory Coast 1984 losing to Cameroon 3-1, at Morocco 88 losing again to Cameroon 0-1, and Algeria 90 losing to Algeria by a lone goal.

Nigeria got Bronze at Senegal 92 beating rivals Cameroon 2-1; became champions at Tunisia 94 with a 2-1 win over Zambia; again lost to Cameroon when Nigeria/Ghana hosted in 2000 via 4-3 penalty shootouts after 2-2 scores to bag the Silver; got the Bronze with a lone goal victory over Mali at Mali 2002; back to Tunisia in 2004, Nigeria won Bronze with a lone goal victory over Senegal; at Egypt 2006 Nigeria again beat Senegal 1-0 to win the Bronze; in 2010 at Angola Nigeria beat Algeria by a lone goal to win Bronze; she came back at South Africa 2013 under Stephen Keshi to win the trophy beating the Stallions of Burkina Faso by a lone goal scored by Sunday Mba, and in 2019, she got the Bronze at Egypt in a lone goal victory over Tunisia. Please note that only podium finish records are presented concerning Nigeria.

Equatorial Guinea is ranked 88th and is appearing for the 4th time. She co-hosted with Gabon in 2015 with a no-show performance but hosted in 2015 and ended up in 4th place in Malabo after losing via penalty kicks 2-4 and the real match goalless to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea met thrice. Nigeria won all the matches with a 1-0 victory on June 15th, 2008, in the World Cup and a return match played in Nigeria on June 21st, 2023, ending 2-0. There was an AFCON encounter on January 24th, ending 3-1 in favor of Nigeria.

The last five matches of Equatorial Guinea were not victories. On October 7th, 2023, she played 1-1 with Liberia in Monrovia in an AFCON match; played goalless with Burkina Faso in a Friendly on October 13th, 2023; defeated Namibia by a lone goal in a World Cup match on November 15th, 2023; on November 21st, 2023, she got an encore victory over Liberia in a World Cup match again with Liberia playing at home; on January 9th, 2024, she played 1-1 with Djibouti in a friendly.

Nigeria played a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in a friendly played in Portugal on October 14th, 2023, and on October 19th, beat Mozambique 3-2 in another friendly on the same pitch in Portugal; Nigeria played an amazing 1-1 draw with Lesotho in a World Cup match on October 17th, November 2023; she again played 1-1 with Zimbabwe in another World Cup match on November 19th, 2023, and on January 8th, 2024, Nigerians were stunned with a 0-2 loss to Guinea in a friendly match in Nigeria.

Thunders of Equatorial Guinea clips Super Eagles of Nigeria wings in Group A second match

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