The Super Eagles of Nigeria held on to a second-half goal to secure a vital win over AFCON hosts, Ivory Coast, boosting their chances of qualifying for the next round of the competition.
Having failed to get a win in the opening game against Equatorial Guinea, the Super Eagles desperately needed to get all three points against Ivory Coast, a clash that had ruled as one of their toughest games in group A.
Both countries kept things even till the 55th minute when the Eagles skipper, William Troost-Ekong, stepped up to a penalty that had been awarded after Ousmane Diomande fouled Victor Osimhen.
Ekong made no mistakes and that was enough to hand the resilient Eagles three points and a move to second place in the group, tied on points with Leaders, Equatorial Guinea, who thrashed Guinea-Bissau 4-2.
The Elephants of Ivory Coast are third with three points while Nigeria’s next opponents, Guinea-Bissau are bottom of the table with zero point.
A win against Bissau on Monday will see the Eagles qualify for the round of 16.
