Eagles’ Defeat of Elephants Changed AFCON Fovourites’ Dynamics  

AFCON 2023

Before the kickoff of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Super Eagles were only the fifth favourite team to win the competition behind defending champions, Senegal, Morocco, last edition’s finalists, Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire, but with Nigeria’s victory over the host country on Thursday and with Egypt’s struggle after two matches, the title favourites’ dynamics have changed, Kunle Adewale writes

With some unimpressive results during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in which the Super Eagles could not beat Lesotho on home soil, forced Zimbabwe to a 1-1 draw in a neutral ground and with injuries to key players days to the kickoff of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria was not one of the foremost teams favoured to lift the trophy by bookmakers.

Indeed, the team did little to prove bookmakers wrong with a lacklustre performance against Equatorial Guinea in their first match on Sunday, as they could only manage a 1-1 draw in spite all the begging chances that came their way.

Against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday, an encounter in which the Super Eagles were far from being favourites, the three-time African champions surprised the host with a 4-5-1 formation, which the Elephants found totally strange and unknown of their opponent and the Ivorians lost 1-0 to their West African opposition.

The most successful team in the competition’s history, Pharaohs of Egypt, were second only behind Senegal as one of the favourites to cart away the trophy in Cote d’Ivoire, have only managed 2-2 draws scoreline against Mozambique and Ghana, coming from behind on both occasions have halted the winning dynamics, as a slip in their last Group B match against Cape Verde might see the Egyptians packing their luggage early out of Cote d’Ivoire.

In his reaction, Nigeria head coach, Jose Peseiro, says they used a strategy that worked for them in their hard-fought 1-0 win over Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday.

The Portuguese technician is delighted to have put in place “a strategy that worked” against the hosts who had the backing of a highly vocal crowd at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe.

However, he acknowledged having noted some improvement areas during this match won, thanks to a penalty caused by Victor Osimhen and converted by William Troost-Ekong in the 55th minute.

“For the next match we have to control the game, try to be less timid and not give possession to the opponent,” he said.

However, for Peseiro, the victory does not suddenly make Nigeria one of the favourites of the competition.

“I told my players not to savour the victory. We have four days left before the next match. From day one I told them: “you must win the AFCON,” he said.

Nigeria’s forward, Victor Osimhen, who was named Man of the Match, shared his elation during a post-match press conference, stating, “It’s a beautiful victory; we knew we would face a strong Ivory Coast team.”

Acknowledging the magnitude of the challenge posed by Cote d’Ivoire, Osimhen added, “This match was a significant test for us, and we are thrilled to have overcome it.

“In the first match, we had numerous chances that we didn’t capitalize on. Today wasn’t different; we maintained the same mentality, and we hope this victory brings joy to everyone. We will carry this mindset into the remainder of the competition.” Osimhen emphasized not underestimating their opponent, stating, “We aim for a strong performance against Guinea-Bissau. They will undoubtedly approach the game with determination, and we won’t underestimate any team, considering what they’ve done to qualify.”

Meanwhile, erstwhile Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr, has congratulated the Nigerian football team after they defeated Cote d’Ivoire lavishing praise on the players and the tactical organization that held the team compact in defence.

“It’s a very nice victory for the Nigerian team against Cote d’Ivoire who were not in the game at all. The organization with the 5-4-1 formation was decisive because we didn’t see the strikers of Ivory Coast at all,” the German tactician said.

Despite lavishing praise on the Nigerian players, the 70-year-old urged the team not to relax yet, highlighting that the journey isn’t over.

“It’s a very good result, I’m happy for my players. There had been so many criticisms in the past that they answered with this big match, but they have to be careful and humble, because in the last AFCON they won the three games in the group and they got knocked out in the next round. Each match is very important,” he added.

In a related development, 1994 Africa Cup of Nations-winning midfielder Austin Okocha heaped praises on the Super Eagles for their performance in the 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The win puts the three-time African champions in a good position to advance to the round of 16, having now garnered four points same as table-toppers Equatorial Guinea, who have a better goal difference.

In his post-match reaction, Okocha praised the performance of José Peseiro’s side and also said they were deserving of the victory

“It was an important victory for us. It puts us in a very good position,” Okocha said to France 24.

“It was a very difficult game, it is never easy to play against the host but we showed a lot of character today and deservingly we won the game.”

Okocha also spoke about Ivory Coast and was of the opinion that the host nation can still go further in the competition despite the loss to their West African counterparts.

“It is always difficult to play at home, the pessure is always on you and Côte d’Ivoire love their football.

“They just don’t want to win, they want to win in style which puts the player under a lot of pressure but I think they still have a good chance of going far in the tournament.

“It is football and you know anything is possible in football. Sometimes, you might need the defeat to bounce back, you might need to lose a game to correct your mistakes.

“If everything is going fine, you think you are untouchable, so sometimes defeat helps teams to bounce back”.

The Elephants already have three points which means all hope is not lost ahead of their last game against Equatorial Guinea on Monday.

Of all the foremost favourites to win the title, only Taranga Lions of Senegal have really justified their favourite tag having won their two matches with a total of six goals and booked their place in the round of 16.

Morocco too are living up to expectation after defeating their opponent Tanzania 3-0 in their first game.

Nigeria’s next match comes up on Monday against Guinea-Bissau, at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Abidjan for their third and final round of Group A matches, which will air live on Sports Premium, channel 252 or 246, on StarTimes as well as on StarTimes-ON app.