Super Eagles hope to bounce back after unexpected draw with Equatorial Guinea

The Africa Cup of Nations gets underway this evening with the highly anticipated clash between Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The result of this match could determine which country will top Group A. Ivory Coast are currently in first place with a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the Afcon opener and look like a confident force under French boss Jean-Louis Gasset.

On the contrary, last time Equatorial had to play a 1-1 draw with Nigeria and Guinea. Ivan Salvador opened the scoring before Super Eagles talisman Victor Osimhen scored the equalizer just two minutes in. After this, Nigeria could not maintain its dominance over the match and could not score a goal. Now they need to win the match against the Elephants to get their campaign back on track.

Nigeria achieved the last of its three tournament victories in 2013, when Ivory Coast became champions for the second time two years later. However, both countries have consistently performed poorly in recent years and should have their sights set on reaching the final stages of the competition