2023 AFCON: Nigeria v Equatorial Guinea preview

Day two of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations sees the action get underway with a Group A encounter between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Date: Sunday, 14 January 2024

Kick-off: 16h00 CAT

Head-to-head: This will be their first meeting at the continental showpiece, although the two teams have locked horns three times previously. The Super Eagles ran out 3-1 victors in the 2018 African Nations Championship, a decade after winning both home (2-0) and away (1-0) in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Nigeria’s last three results: Jose Peseiro’s side made a disappointing start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign after playing out to successive 1-1 draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, while they warmed up for the tournament with a 2-0 defeat to Guinea on January 8.

Equatorial Guinea’s last three results: The National Thunder built up a head of steam going into the African spectacle after recording back-to-back 1-0 wins over Namibia and Liberia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers before concluding their preparations with a 1-1 draw against Djibouti on January 9.

Team news: Nigeria were dealt a double blow in the week leading up to AFCON after Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar withdrew from the squad due to injury, with Terem Moffi and Paul Onuachu brought in as their replacements. Equatorial Guinea have a clean bill of health for their Group A opener.

Key player – Nigeria: The West African giants are expecting big things from Victor Osimhen in Ivory Coast after he capped off a superb 2023 by being named the African Footballer of the Year. The 25-year-old striker was the top scorer in AFCON qualifying with 10 goals and he’ll be looking to hit the ground running against Equatorial Guinea.

Key player – Equatorial Guinea: Emilio Nsue is the National Thunder’s dangerman and comes into the match on the back of an impressive scoring streak after bagging four goals in his last four games, including the winners against Namibia and Liberia.