ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Victor Osimhen saved Nigeria's blushes, but the Super Eagles dropped two valuable points in a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
For a team with ambitions of winning the title, the three-time champions looked anything but in a scrappy game pockmarked by disjointed performances and erratic passing. Perhaps the fans in Abidjan knew what the rest of us did not -- of the nearly 40,000 who watched hosts Ivory Coast beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 on Saturday, fewer than 5,000 came back less than 24 hours later.
While Nigeria created enough chances to have won the game comfortably, their much-vaunted attack turned toothless and they can count themselves lucky to take a point after Ivan Edu's surprise strike threatened to cause an upset.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
1. Peseiro made some bold calls
From his first news conference in Dallas, Nigeria boss Jose Peseiro maintained that he had confidence in goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, despite the errors under previous managers that saw fans and many in the media call for him to be dropped.
Peseiro reiterated that confidence again in the run-up to this game, and Uzoho was also backed by captain Ahmed Musa. But on matchday, that confidence went in the bin as the Portuguese decided to go with Stanley Nwabali instead.
It was a bold, if unexpected, move and Nwabali got through 90 minutes without any issues to dent his confidence so it will be hard to see how Uzoho finds a way back in.
Peseiro also handed a start to midfielder Alhassan Yusuf, who was only included in the AFCON squad because Leicester's Wilfred Ndidi is out injured. And for large parts of the game, Yusuf was the best player on the pitch ... so much so that when he was taken off with what looked like an injury, there was a groan of collective despair from every Nigeria fan in the ground. With Frank Onyeka less than impressive, Nigeria will hope that Yusuf recovers quickly.
2. But his tactics were not good
While Peseiro may have impressed with his selection choices, the same could not be said of his tactics or substitutions.
Nigeria's build up was slow and ponderous, passes took too long to find teammates, and for a team built on a culture of quick counter attacks, the transitions looked laboured.
When they did get into the final third, they ended up taking too many touches and letting the opposition regroup as poor decision-making in front of goal took its toll.
Peseiro's substitutions did little to help, either; winger Alex Iwobi wilted under the sweltering heat and Joe Aribo's arrival to replace Yusuf hardly improved the situation. The coach was left flailing helplessly on the sidelines, unable to come up with a plan to break down the stubborn Equatorial Guinea defence. And that is a worry, especially with hosts Ivory Coast up next.
3. Nigeria have made hard work for themselves
Being in Group A with the hosts (who are title contenders in their own right) means the Super Eagles needed to win both games against the two smaller opponents to contest for first place. Instead, they have started badly and could face a must-win final game against Guinea Bissau -- a team that beat them 1-0 in qualifying back in March -- just to qualify if they don't beat Ivory Coast.
This expanded AFCON tournament means more countries have a chance to advance as one of the best third-placed teams, while the danger of finishing second is that you will meet stronger opposition in the round of 16. In the case of the Super Eagles, this throws up the possibility of a game against the Group C runners-up, who are likely to be either of Senegal, Cameroon or Guinea.
Nigeria's route to potential glory has certainly become more perilous by their failure to see off Equatorial Guinea. If they can start to put away their chances then anything is possible -- especially with Kelechi Iheanacho, Paul Onuachu and Terem Moffi available for the next game -- but right now only the bravest of fans would bet on them winning their next two games on the basis of this performance.