Nigeria’s Super Eagles begin their quest for a fourth AFCON title when they face off against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe.
AFCON 2024
Match 2 – Nigeria v Equatorial Guinea
Sunday 14 January | 16:00
The three-time champions, Nigeria, begin their AFCON journey with a feisty encounter against Equatorial Guinea. The Super Eagles will need to navigate their group, having one of the attacks at this edition of the tournament.
To Win Match
Nigeria 9/20 | Draw 26/10 | Equatorial Guinea 6/1
The Super Eagles of Nigeria lost 2-0 in a friendly game on Monday against Guinea in preparation for the 2023 African Cup of Nations. With the tournament scheduled to start just a few days later, that loss could not have come at a worse time.
Napoli striker and CAF’s 2023 African Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen and Bayer Leverkusen talisman Victor Boniface, played no part in that defeat. The former will be well rested ahead Nigeria’s AFCON opener but the latter will miss the tournament through injury.
Nigerians all over the world will be hopeful of a positive outcome for their national team. The Super Eagles have brought a star-studded squad to Ivory Coast. Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho is a commanding figure between the sticks. The formidable squad features players like Ahmed Musa, Frank Onyeka, Samuel Chukwueze, Zaidu Sanusi, Simon Moses and a host of others means that they enter the tournament as on of the favourites.
The side were excellent through qualification, José Peseiro’s troops scored 22 and conceded just four in their qualification Group. Of course it Osimhen who top scored during qualifying, with ten strikes to his name – the only player to post double-digit figures in qualifying.
Equatorial Guinea have a largely experienced squad, of disciplined players who know how to get the job done. Despite this, qualifying from a group that has the host nation, Ivory Coast, and heavy weights, Nigeria, will fill even the most ardent supporter with a bit of dread.
It will come down to the direct result against the two aforementioned nations, if Equatorial Guinea are to stage an upset of note. After being battered 4-0 by Tunisia back in 2022 during their opening AFCON qualifier, the National Thunder steadied the ship to go undefeated across their ensuing five fixtures – a run that included four wins.
Their relatively inexperienced attackers, seldomly claim the headlines, however, add back-to-back wins in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Namibia and Liberia to that strong run of results and we just may have a game on our hands!
In terms of head-to-head, Equatorial Guinea have got nothing to show for their previous three competitive encounters with Nigeria, with the most recent result being a 3-1 defeat. I feel it could be more of the same in this one.
Verdict: Nigeria Half Time/Full Time 11/10
The ball is round, the result can go either way on the day depending on the mentality. With that being said, Nigeria boast a squad to be feared by just about all nations at the tournament. In this one, I can’t see Uzoho being tested that often against an unflattering attack. Nigeria should win this game comfortably.
