Equatorial Guinea held Nigeria to a 1-1 draw in their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Group A opener on Sunday afternoon at Ebimpe’s Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium.
Equatorial Guinea took the lead in the 36th minute, but Victor Osimhen leveled matters for Nigeria with a close-range header.
Nigeria’s next match will be against Ivory Coast, who opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on Saturday evening.
Equatorial Guinea, on the other hand, will be encouraged by the point when they face a wounded Guinea-Bissau.
Ivory Coast leads Group A, while Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria are a point ahead of Guinea-Bissau.
VAR rescues Egypt
Mohammed Salah scored late to rescue Egypt from a shock loss to Mozambique in their first group D match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
The seven-time champions took the lead after just two minutes thanks to Mohamed Mostafa’s strike as they went on the break on top.
However, the Mambas came into the second half much stronger. Ten minutes later, Witness Quembo headed home the equalizer for Mozambique.
The goal is Mozambique’s first in the last 14 years.
Clesio Bauque scored Mozambique’s second goal three minutes later. He got past the Egyptians to set up a one-on-one with Mohamed El Shenawy, and he scored.
Domingos Macandza brought down Mostafa Mohammed late in the game, and after a VAR review, Egypt was awarded a penalty, which Salah converted to tie the game at 2-2.
Ghana opened AFCON campaign with a loss
Garry Rodrigues scored late to give Cape Verde all three points in their first game.
Jamiro Monteiro gave Cape Verde a well-deserved lead in the 17th minute. The San Jose midfielder tapped home a loose ball from goalkeeper Richard Ofori.
Ghana’s Majeed Ashimeru had a potential equalizer disallowed after VAR checks by referee Jean Jacques Ndola Ngambo.
However, Alexander Djiku got the equalizer for Ghana 11 minutes into the second half. The defender headed in from a Jordan Ayew ball to draw Ghana level.
With just 6 minutes to end the game, substitute Garry Rodrigues restored Cape Verde’s lead after he capitalized on a defensive blunder from the Ghanaian defence to tap into an empty net.
Cape Verde are now top of Group D with three points.
Ghana will play Egypt next Thursday, while Cape Verde will clash with Mozambique.
