Eagles share spoils with Thunder in turgid AFCON encounter in Abidjan

By Albert Akota

Three-time champions Nigeria fluffed a bagful of opportunities to draw 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea and end up with only one point in their Africa Cup of Nations Group A encounter at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara on Sunday.
Within the opening 10 minutes, Alex Iwobi rattled the opposition goalkeeper and an Iwobi cross to Victor Osimhen was plucked by the goalkeeper a minute later. Osimhen blasted an opportunity wide and headed another narrowly away, and then Zaidu Sanusi failed to connect properly with the goal at his mercy. The plethora of opportunities gave the impression that Nigeria would dominate the day. Instead, the Eagles allowed the opponents to settle into their stride and gain in confidence.
Nigeria’s defence was tardy with Ola Aina opting to showboat now and again, and it was no surprise when a mistake in the defence by Iwobi and Frank Onyeka saw Ivan Salvador slam the ball past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali from 12 yards in the 36th minute.
Right from the re-start, Osimhen restored parity by leaping to head into the net a swift pull-out by the hard-working Ademola Lookman. Then, the Eagles took their feet off the pedal again.
In the second half, the Eagles were more profligate as both Lookman and Osimhen failed to convert early chances, and Lookman heaved too high his shot off a rebound from an effort by Zaidu Sanusi.
Osimhen and Aina saw their efforts blocked as the game maintained its character, but Osimhen should have scored when put on in the 76th minute by Semi Ajayi. Instead, he dragged his effort too wide with the goalkeeper at his mercy.
In the 90th minute, Lookman was again foiled by the opposition goalkeeper, and the result means that the Eagles must take at least a point from the clash with hosts Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday at the same venue to stay in contention for a place in the Round of 16.
The draw also meant three successive 1-1 draws for the Eagles in competitive games, following from 1-1 draws with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in November.