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The Super Eagles of Nigeria earned a hard-fought win over AFCON 2023 hosts Ivory Coast to go second in Group A
- 90' FULL TIME! It's over!! The Super Eagles have done the unimaginable, pulling off a remarkable performance to beat Ivory Coast IN Ivory Coast for the first time ever. It ends 1-0 with Troost-Ekong's penalty the decisive strike to give Nigeria all three points.
- 67' Ivory Coast captain Serge Aurier goes down injured and has to be replaced, on comes Wilfried Singo as a direct replacement. Ivory Coast also send on Nicolas Pepe and Jonathan Bamba in place of Christian Kouame and Jeremy Boga.
- Can Ivory Coast respond or have we just witnessed the match winner? Still over half an hour of football to play here in Abidjan.
- 55' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! William Troost-Ekong smashes it straight down the middle, sending Yahia Fofana in goal the wrong way.
- The Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal points to the spot to award Nigeria a penalty. Golden opportunity for the Super Eagles to open the scoring here.
- A VAR check ensues, the referee is heading to the pitchside monitor to check for himself, will he come back with good news for Nigeria or will the hosts get a free pass?
- 50' Nigeria have a chance in the box and Osimhen goes down clutching his calve after a collision with Ousman Diomande, a potential penalty for the Super Eagles?
- The second half is underway, can both teams keep up the intensity of the first half?
- The dynamics of this game are of course greatly affected by the earlier result from the other match in Group A where Equatorial Guinea beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2. Here are the highlights ICYMI!
- HALFTIME! IVORY COAST 0-0 NIGERIA!
- Three minutes added on at the end of this half, can either team find a way before the break?
- Troost-Ekong is good to continue as the Super Eagles continue to search for the opener here in what has been a truly engaging game.
- 30' Bad news for Nigeria as William Troost-Ekong pulls up injured after making a clearance. Will the Super Eagles need to replace their captain? Kenneth Omeruo warms up.
- Action resumes here in Abidjan where the most famous Ivorian is in attendance. Didier Drogba is in the house, cheering on the present generation of Ivorian stars.
- 25' COOLING BREAK! The players take a break to cool down and catch their breath and so must we the viewers in what has been a frenetic start to this gigantic game.
- End-to-end stuff here in Abidjan both teams fashioning out some half chances but neither really working the goalkeeper here.
- 8' Another big chance missed!!! This time by Ivory Coast, Christian Kouame had a one-on-one after capitalising on a defensive error from Zaidu Sanusi but Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali makes a good save.
- 7' BIG CHANCE!!! Victor Osimhen is played through on goal by Samuel Ckuwkueze but the African footballer of the year blasts the ball wildly over the bar in rather disappointing fashion.
- 5' A slow start to this one in Abidjan as both teams size each other out but there's more than enough quality on this pitch for us to have an entertaining watch.
- KICKOFF!!! The big one is underway, Ivory Coast are in their traditional orange head to toe while the Super Eagles are draped in white.
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FOOTBALL
06:09 - 18.01.2024
AFCON 2023: Okocha, Ambode provide a boost for the Super Eagles ahead of Ivory Coast clash
The ex-Bolton star and former Lagos Governor lightened up Super Eagles players' mood ahead of the all-important 2023 Africa Cup of Nations clash against Ivory Coast.
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FOOTBALL
19:38 - 17.01.2024
AFCON 2023: Why the Super Eagles should be confident against Ivory Coast
Despite a false start against Equatorial Guinea, the underlying numbers are promising for the Super Eagles heading into their second group-stage fixture against the Elephants on Thursday.
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FOOTBALL
12:48 - 18.01.2024
AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast close down schools, mobilise fans to fill up the stadium for Super Eagles game
Host nation Ivory Coast are doing all they can to fill up the stadium and intimidate the Super Eagles ahead of the big match in Group A such as closing schools in Abidjan and mobilising supporters with free transportation.
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FOOTBALL
16:33 - 18.01.2024
AFCON 2023: Super Eagles star backs Ivory Coast for victory in crunch AFCON clash
In a startling revelation, Super Eagles goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi has tipped Cote d’Ivoire for a win against Nigeria in today's heated encounter at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
- The hype for this game is at an all-time high, if you're not in the mood already, fret not... Pulse Sports will get you in the right mindset with our wide array of pre-game content.
- The hosts also make two changes with Serge Aurier replacing Wilfried Singo at right-back while Christian Kouame is preferred to Jonathan Bamba in attack.
- Calvin Bassey comes in to replace the injured Alhassan Yusuf which necessitated the change of shape while Samuel Chukwueze starts in place of Moses Simon as the only two personnel changes for the Super Eagles.
- The lineups are out and the big story for Nigeria is a switch in formation from 4-3-3 in the 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea to what looks like a 3-4-3 today.
- In this incredibly anticipated encounter between the Elephants and the Super Eagles, let us see how the grass holds up... it's Ivory Coast taking on Nigeria.
- An African proverb reads "When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers" and the grass in question today is the 60,000-capacity Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan!
- Welcome ladies and gentlemen from all around the world, you know what time it is...it's AFCON 2023 O'Clock and the biggest game of the tournament so far is what we have on the menu!
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