Madagascar reach Round of 16 after shocking Nigeria

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Jun 30, 2019. 20:01

Madagascar beat Nigeria 2-0 in their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group B match at the Alexandria Stadium in Egypt on Sunday evening.

As a result, Barea booked their place in the Round of 16 as group winners, while the Super Eagles also advanced to the knockout stages as runners-up.

Barea were happy to sit back and launch quick counter-attacks against the Super Eagles in the opening stages of the encounter.

The tournament debutants managed to take a surprise lead following a mistake by John Ogu and Leon Balogun 13 minutes into the game.

Lalaina Nomenjanahary intercepted Ogu's poor pass to Balogun and he fired past Ikechukwu Ezenwa in the Nigeria goal-posts to make it 1-0 to Madagascar.

The Super Eagles then pressed Barea as they looked to restore parity and they had an opportunity to score on the half-hour mark.

Ahmed Musa received a pass in the box and he tried to round Barea goalkeeper Melvin Adrien, who nicked the ball off the Super Eagles attacker.

Madagascar still looked dangerous when they pushed forward and they nearly scored through Faneva Andriatsima, whose effort narrowly missed the target in the 43rd minute.

The score was 1-0 to Madagascar at the interval following a lively first-half.

Barea continued to attack after the restart and they were awarded a free-kick in a promising area seven minutes after the restart.

Carolus Andriamatsinoro then stepped up and beat Ezenwa with a deflected effort from the set-piece to make it 2-0 to Madagascar.

The Super Eagles then took control of the match and Wilfried Ndidi's curling effort was saved by Adrien just before the hour-mark.

Spain-based attacker Moses Simon was introduced by Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr in the 73rd minute as the three-time AFCON champions pushed for at least two late goals.

However, Madagascar took firm at the back in the closing stages of the match and ultimately, they recorded a famous 2-0 victory over Nigeria.

Madagascar (1) 2 (Nomenjanahary 13', Andriamatsinoro 53')
Nigeria(0) 0

Madagascar: Adrien, Mombris, R. Métanire, Fontaine, Andrianantenaina, Razakanantenaina (Randrianarisoa 73'), Nomenjanahary, Amada (Raveloson 86'), Ilaimaharitra, Andriatsima (Gros 61'), Andriamatsinoro.

Nigeria: Ezenwa, Balogun, Troost-Ekong, Aina, Awaziem, Mikel (Iwobi 58'), Ogu (Ndidi 46'), Etebo, Ighalo, Musa, Kalu (Simon 73').