The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Thursday got their campaign for a fourth title back on track with a 1-0 defeat of hosts Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire.
In their Group A match day 2 game at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium at Ebimpe near Abidjan, they held firm with a stoic display.
Their performance helped them to move up the standings to second from third in the group, and they now look good for second round qualification.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that match captain William Troost-Ekong scored the game’s lone goal in the 55th minute.
That was when he calmly scored from the penalty kick spot after a foul on Victor Osimhen by Ousmane Diomande.
Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal had awarded the penalty kick after checking from the pitchside monitor, following the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Nigeria will now be needing, to advance to the second round, just a draw from their final group stage match on Monday when they face Guinea Bissau.
Current Group A Standings
Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Equatorial Guinea 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 4
Nigeria 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
Côte d’Ivoire 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 3
Guinea Bissau 2 0 0 2 2 6 -4 0