AFCON: Troost-Ekong Gives Nigeria Lead Against Ivory Coast
…as group B giants Egypt And Ghana Share Points
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have taken the lead in the Group A battle with fellow West African heavyweights Ivory Coast.
Defender William Troost-Ekong gave the Nigerian team a 1-0 lead from the penalty spot in the 55th minute after striker Victor Osimhen was bundled by Ivorian defenders in the penalty box.
The Eagles have matched the firepower of the host country in the game today which is a contrasting performance from the one against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
According to Channels Television, before the goal, both teams had their chances, with the Nigerian team being the most wasteful in front of goal.
Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro made two changes to the team that started the 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
While Samuel Chukwueze replaced Moses Simon in the attack, Calvin Bassey was named in the starting eleven in place of injured midfielder Alhassan Yusuf.
Leicester City forward, Kelechi Iheanacho, who missed the last game through injury has returned to the team albeit starting on the bench.
Meanwhile, Group B giants Egypt And Ghana Share Points
Egypt and Ghana played a 2-2 draw in their second matchday in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) holding in Cote d’Ivoire.
Egypt was forced to make a last-minute substitution a subtstitution towards the end of the first half as star player Mohamed Salah felt uneasy.
Ghana opened the scoring with a long shot by midfielder Mohammed Kudus in the stoppage time of the first half.
Egypt equalized through Omar Marmoush in the 69th minute, but Kudus quickly replied with a second goal for his team two minutes later.
Refusing to concede defeat, Egypt Mostafa Mohamed leveled again for Egypt with both teams holding on until the last whistle.