The African football super legend
* The two are facing each other at the AFCON for the seventh time and their head-to-head record so far is perfectly balanced
* With two wins each, two draws and five goals each (penalty shoot-outs excluded
* The last time the two met at the AFCON was in 2013 in which Nigeria won 2-1 in the quarter-finals
Maravi Express
Tomorrow’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group A match between the hosts Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria is the match that the world is waiting for, says the Super Eagles’ legend, Jay-Jay Okocha.
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Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their opening clash, while Côte d’Ivoire triumphed to a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau.
Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria are facing each other at the AFCON for the seventh time and their head-to-head record so far is perfectly balanced with two wins each, two draws and five goals each (penalty shoot-outs excluded).
The last time the two met at the AFCON was in 2013 in which Nigeria won 2-1 in the quarter-finals and went on to lift the trophy a week later.
When asked in an interview with CAFonline if fans should expect a difficult match for the Super Eagles, the African football icon, said: “Absolutely! Every match is difficult but when you play the host country, it is even more difficult.
“But, of course the beauty of football is that if you want to be champions, you have to win against the best. And as we know, in football, every match is difficult.
“If you are well prepared, you have a chance of winning your match. But, we Nigerians, we know that it will be a difficult match but also, we believe that we have enough potential to be able to win this match.
On what will be the key for Nigeria to winning the match, the legend said it will experience, desire and state of mind, adding: “For me, they are professionals, and they know the importance of this match, I think their mindset will be the key.”
Nigeria surrendered a lead to draw against Equatorial Guinea and on his thoughts of the stalemate, Jay Jay said the Super Eagles “didn’t really play bad like many people say — there were a lot of positive things that were seen in the match”.
“The only problem is that we didn’t take our opportunities. We created a lot of chances, which is a positive aspect for me. That’s the sign of a good team.
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It looks like two points lost because we were favorites, but we know how difficult it is to win a match. This is also a good thing because they now know that they are not perfect and that they need to improve certain things.
On star striker, Victor Osimhen, who is the 2023 African Player of the Year, Okocha recognised that he is a world-class goalscorer, a very great player, saying: “He needs the services of his team and I believe he got them in this first match.
“It’s not all the time that we see him miss clear opportunities. I think he is eager to correct his mistakes and with him, we have hope and we believe in him because we know he is capable of shining in any competition.
Victor Osimhen
The three previous AFCON meetings between Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria in the group stages produced only two goals (0-0 in 1980, 1-0 to Nigeria in 1990, 1-0 to Côte d’Ivoire in 2008).
After their 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on the opening game, Côte d’Ivoire are looking to win both of their opening two matches of an AFCON tournament for the first time since the 2013 edition.
While after their 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria could fail to win their opening two AFCONs for the first time since 2013 (D2), which was also the last time the Super Eagles lifted the trophy.
Host nations have only lost one of their last 38 group stage games at the AFCON (W23 D14), and are unbeaten in their last 17 (W9 D8) since Equatorial Guinea lost 0-1 to Zambia as joint-hosts in 2012.
Nigeria have lost just one of their last 12 group stage games at the AFCON (W8 D3), with their 2-0 defeat to Madagascar in 2019 the only time they’ve failed to score in this run.
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After their goals against Guinea-Bissau, either Seko Fofana or Jean-Philippe Krasso could become the first player to score in both of Côte d’Ivoire’s first two matches of an AFCON tournament since both Gervinho and Yaya Touré did so in 2013.
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen scored his first goal at the AFCON last time out against Equatorial Guinea, he had six shots in the game, three times as many as any other player, while the last time a Nigerian player had more shots in a single group stage game in the competition was Peter Odemwingie (7) against Mozambique in January 2010.
Côte d’Ivoire’s Franck Kessié recorded his fourth assist in the AFCON against Guinea-Bassau — no player has more assists in the competition since the Ivorian’s first appearance in 2017 (Mohamed Salah, also 4).—Info from CAFonline
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