Super Eagles forward and Napoli attacking sensation Victor Osimhen missed an open net in Nigeria’s AFCON opener against Equatorial Guinea, MySportDab reports.
It ended in a stalemate as the Super Eagles settled for a dramatic 1-1 draw against the Elephants of Equatorial Guinea. The three-time African champions fell below the bidding against the tournament’s dark horses.
Throughout the game, they struggled to pin down their opponents without a good spell of possession and could not launch successive offensives in Equatorial Guinea’s half.
After the half hour, they were dealt a further blow when Alhassan Yusuf had to be stretchered off the field with an apparent harmstring issue
With Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze coming on, the Super Eagles spiced up their offensives and nearly take the lead when Victor Osimhen was set up with a through-ball from the midfield. Beating the offside trap, Osimhen picked his pace through the rickety Equatorial Guinea defense. He had only the goalkeeper to beat after he came one-on-one with the goalie but fired a low shot off target in a shock miss.
It was the second and last big chance for the Super Eagles to take the lead. The match ended squares with both sides settling for a 1-1 draw.
Iban Salvador gave Equatorial Guinea a surprise lead after firing home a low shot from close range to give the Elephants the lead.
Two minutes after Salvador’s goal, Victor Osimhen came up clutch with an equaliser, heading home a cross from Lookman inside the box to even the scores.
The Napoli sensation would have bagged his brace had he turned in the second goal in the 65th minute.
The Super Eagles will take on Ivory Coast in their next game while Equatorial Guinea clashed with Guinea-Bissau.
Watch Victor Osimhen’s Miss Below
What a chance! 🇳🇬 Victor Osimhen 💥🚀pic.twitter.com/390oovtBPU
— THE CRUISE TV (@the_cruisetv) January 14, 2024
