Nigeria got their first win of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 win over the host of the tournament Ivory Coast banishing the memory of their 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening game OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Nigeria silenced the capacity crowd at the stadium with a goal from the spot converted by the captain of the Nigerian team William Troost-Ekong after top striker Victor Osimhen was fouled in the box.
Many Nigerians expected the Napoli man to pick himself up and take the spot kick but he passed the responsibility over to the captain, who didn’t disappoint with a well taken strike from six yards which ended as the decider of the game.
” Osimhen is not the designated penalty taker. He is third on the list that is if captain Ahmed Musa isn’t playing. Ekong is number one, Moses Simon is next then you have Osimhen. But if Musa is on he becomes number 4. It is for the good of the team”, a player in the team explained.
” If you remember in the world cup qualifiers play off against Ghana it was Ekong who took it. Against Guinea-Bissau away in the AFCON qualifiers even with Osimhen on the pitch it was taken by Simon. We know the hierarchy and we respect it as a team”, he rounded up saying.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
