Victor Osimhen's quick-fire equaliser spared Nigeria a shock defeat against Equatorial Guinea in their opening game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Napoli striker nodded in straight after Iban Salvador's opener for the underdogs. And, it came after Jesus Owono made several second-half saves to deny the Super Eagles. But, despite their nervy start in the competition, it means both sides are two points behind Ivory Coast, who opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on Saturday.
Equatorial Guinea, who are 46 places below Nigeria in the world rankings, celebrated after taking the lead, but conceded straight from the restart when Osimhen converted Ademola Lookman's cross and spent much of the match under pressure. The three-time continental champions (Nigeria) are seeking to lift the trophy for the first time since 2013 but could not find a winner against opponents who had beaten holders Algeria on their way to the quarter-finals at the 2021 finals.
Meanwhile, in their Group B opener, Mohamed Salah's injury-time penalty spared Egypt's blushes against Mozambique. A regulation victory, in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, looked on the cards when Mostafa Mohamed put the Pharaohs ahead after just 89 seconds, but quickfire second-half goals from Witi and Clesio gave the Mambas hope of recording a first-ever Afcon win.
Their dreams, however, were dashed at the death when Domingos Macandza caught Mohamed, and Salah salvaged a draw, as the Liverpool star kept his composure to net his spot-kick in the seventh minute of added time. Also in Group B, though, it was Cape Verde who upset the odds, as they overcame one of the tournament’s favourites, Ghana, with a stoppage-time winner to go top as Garry Rodrigues (pic) tapped into an empty net in the 92nd minute after a mix-up in the Black Star’s defence.
It followed after Jamiro Monteiro put the islanders ahead, but Ghana then had a goal ruled out for offside before half-time. Alexander Djiku did equalise with a stooping header, but keeper, Richard Ofori, made two big saves before Rodrigues pounced to net for the shock 2-1 victory.
For Mozambique, ranked 111th in the world, 78 places below Egypt, and playing at only their fourth Afcon finals, must wait until Friday's fixture against Cape Verde for their next chance to break their tournament duck, whilst Egypt play their next game in the Group B heavyweight clash against Ghana. Equatorial Guinea face Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, with Nigeria taking on the Ivory Coast - pitting the two teams considered the strongest contenders for the title against each other.
