Key events
Big contrast for two of the continent’s giants.
Full-time: Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast
What a match, what a scoreline, and what misery for the hosts. Still, Equatorial Guinea were inspired, superb and played such great attacking football, and defended like a team. The contrast with the hosts could not be greater.
Full-time: Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria
This game has five minutes added on. Both teams know their fate as they are played out. It’s second place for Nigeria, who seem happy enough.
Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast: It might have been five. Adam K gets in touch..”What a pair of games — and what a performance from Equatorial Guinea. This game feels really Brazil-Germany 2014 to me with how flimsy the Ivorians’ defence appears to be; every single time Equatorial Guinea come forward they look like scoring. The hosts are clearly feeling immense pressure and (for whatever reason) not able to handle it — this will be a long, painful evening of reflection for those poor players. Take nothing away from Equatorial Guinea, who have been outstanding today; their gameplan executed to perfection. We’re truly witnessing African football history! Absolutely love this competition.”
Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast: Kari Tulinius gets in touch: “What a time to be Emilio Nsue! He’s 34 and is winding down his career at third tier Spanish club CF Intercity in Alicante. Now he’s top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations and is captaining the national team into the second round.”
Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast: It’s the heaviest home defeat in history and surely no host has been humiliated in this manner. This is embarrasssing. There are seven minutes to be added on. Seven minutes of misery unless two goals arrive from somewhere.
Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast (Buyla, 86)
While the ball keeps ending up in the net across Abdijan and being ruled offside, Equatorial Guinea can’t stop scoring. Ivory Coast can’t defend, either. Buyla is allowed to run on to the ball and scuff his shot in. That’s surely the felling blow.
Nigeria have a goal ruled out!
Osimhen gets clear and Ze Turbo thinks he’s scored…but offside. Again!
Guinea Bissau have a goal ruled out!
Franculino Djú scores and celebrates but he’s offside…
Equatorial Guinea 3-0 Ivory Coast: Chaos after Boga sends Fofana to the byline, and his shot is deflected away. Equatorial Guinea have men back in numbers and their heroic keeper Owono is again on the scene.
Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: The Nigerians are heading for second place now. Still, it coud be worse, they could the hosts. They’re looking for another goal, and Osimhen heads wide from a beauty of a cross from Aina.
Equatorial Guinea 3-0 Ivory Coast: Make no mistake, this is an all-time Afcon sensation. Konate misses a chance but the Ivorians have to go in search of a goal. They will spend an anxious week waiting for the other groups to play out, but with little hope.
Goal! Equatorial Guinea 3-0 Ivory Coast (Nsue, 76)
The Ivorians are heading out out out. Nsue was laid his fifth goal of the tourney from a brilliant run from midfield from Jose Machin.
Goal! Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Ivory Coast (Ganet, 73)
A free-kick from miles out is thrashed into the net. Boly handballs outside his area. Ganet scores like Beckham at his best and Fofana had no answer. The hosts are in deep, deep trouble.
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast: Seems fair to say VAR is as popular in Africa as it is in Europe.
Ivory Coast have a goal chalked off!
Just after a triple change is made, Seko Fofana plays the ball through and Krasso scores…but no, offside. There’s a mutinous atmosphere in the stadium.
Osimhen has a goal chalked off!
There looks to be a foul on Bassey, and then, after a melee, the ball is put in. Offside and play on says the referee. That was chaotic and not necessarily clear as to what really happened.
Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: Osimhen flashes a header wide. The Super Eagles want to get this job completed.
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Ivory Coast: Miranda, who was hurt and had been booked, comes off. And then Owono, who has had an excellent game, makes a fine one-on-one save from Kouame, who had been sent through by Diakite.
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast: Some rather odd keeping from Fofana, who deflects a shot away with his knee .
Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: Yellow card for Brentford’s Frank Onyeka, who smashed into Gomes. The Moroccan referee was given no chance other than to brandish a card.
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast: Fofana lets the ball loop over him, and that could have spelled danger for the hosts. The Guineans are compact and determined.
Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: Simon bursts down the left, as he has done all game. The ball is cleared and then Simon finds himself in the box, looks to round the keeper but all credit to Mendes as he pokes the ball away.
The second halves begin
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast: We’re back underway in both matches and somehow, even if he might have been put off by the opposing goalie, Sangare misses a golden chance.
News from Qatar
Half-time in Afcon Group A
Osminhen misses a late chance against Guinea Bissau though at least they are leading. Ivory Coast, even if their three points might be enough to qualify, are on sudden death. Equatorial Guinea have been a tad lucky but they scored a fine goal.
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast: Fofana wants a penalty after he clatters into and off a defender. There’s a fracas which leads to goalkeeper Owono being booked.
Ivory Coast have a goal chalked off!
An equaliser? Or was he offside? Sanagare’s celebration is wide. VAR is taking a look and so is the ref. It’s looks clear. The shock is still very much possible.
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast: This could be a huge story. We are told that 17 players in the Guinean squad are from the Spanish diaspora.
Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: Nigeria have hardly been fluent but they have been effective.
Goal! Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Ivory Coast (Nsue, 42)
The top scorer in the tournament needs only one chance, and that’s a great finish, set up by a fine run by Carlos Akapo. Wow!
Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria: As it stands, that’s Nigeria top on seven points, Equatorial Guinea 5 and then Ivory Coast on four, and looking for third place money.
Goal! Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria (Sanganté OG, 37)
The ball goes out wide, Moses Simon’s ball comes in, and Osimhen must score except Sanganté steps across and whacks it into his own net. That’s a big goal, and puts the pressure on the other group game.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: The Guinean goalie, Jesus Owono, is down. Yes, there’s a been a fair bit of lying down. They want to escape this day with at least a point.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: The Ivorians continue to snatch at chances, and Diakite again escapes down the wing, released by Fofana, and Pepe and Kouama both take a swing at it.
Guinea Bissau 0-0 Nigeria: A cooling break taken – in both games actually – at the 30 minute mark. It’s 34 degrees in Abidjan.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: The closest so far, Pepe storms through, and rides a tackle from Coco that looked every inch a foul and that drives him wide, and makes it easy for Owono to make the save. Might he have gone down? Feels like Pepe paid for his honesty.
Guinea Bissau 0-0 Nigeria: Guinea-Bissau continue to have more of the ball 54% to 46%, even if Nigeria have the more dangerous attacking play so far.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: Diakite has been great so far but his finish is wild when he is presented with a chance. There’s clear nerves among the hosts.
Guinea Bissau 0-0 Nigeria: Defending to do for Nigeria on a corner, but they have nothing to fear from a ball that wafts over and out.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: Looks like it’s the end of the road for the Guinean player, Ivan Salvador, as the stretcher is called on but he makes a quick recovery. Pepe, the Arsenal legend, has been lively. Another man down, Esteban Orozco Fernández. It looks like. the underdogs fancy a bit of timewasting to take the sting out of what has been a strong start.
Guinea Bissau 0-0 Nigeria: Nigeria now in the ascendancy and dominating possession. Osimhen is in an offside position from a cross.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: Great run from Diakite and a dragback from the byline but nobody can get to it. Ndong v Diakite is a key battle.
Guinea Bissau 0-0 Nigeria: It has to be said that Guinea Bissau look the more comfortable on the ball. Nigeria look a bit one-dimensional and direct.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: Ndong, the Guinean midfielder, runs back to clear danger. Ivory Coast are pouring forward. Pepe has a chance to boom in a free-kick. Ndong does very well to clear it. Kessie is the driving force for the Ivorians. Miranda, the Guinean, picks up a first booking of the game. It’s having to be a manful defensive effort.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Ivory Coast: Plenty of impetus from the hosts, with a couple of corners. Equatorial Guinea are unchanged, by the way, from their win over Guinea Bissau.
Guinea Bissau 0-0 Nigeria: An early sighter for Victor Osimhen, but the Nigeria striker, in a mask, drags wide.
We’re underway and it has to be noted that neither stadium is full, the G-B v Nigeria game especially empty and even the game featuring the hosts is notably threadbare in the bleachers section. Still, there’s a big nose for the Ivory Coast.
Refereeing history is being made
Reuters – Moroccan international football referee Bouchra Karboubi is set to make history as the only female central referee at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), with the Moroccan having been appointed to officiate today’s Group A clash between Nigeria and Guinea Bissau.
The formalities are complete across both Abdijan stadiums and the action is all set.
Both these games are being played in Abidjan, with the hosts at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, and the other game being played at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.
Wiki fact: in 2016 Abidjan’s population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city proper in Africa.
A reminder of the 44 men chosen to start.
Guinea-Bissau may not be completely out of it. Should they win, there’s a possible third place up for grabs. So, all to play for it.
Bad news for my prediction of the Ivory Coast team. Still no Seb Haller, Simon Adingra is only on the bench. Wilfried Singo an Willy Boly replace Serge Aurier and Ousmane Diomande in a much-changed defence. In attack, Nicolas Pepe and Oumar Diakite replace Jean-Philippe Krasso and Jeremie Boga.
Some changes for Nigeria. No Alex Iwobi, for starters. William Troost-Ekong drops to the bench, Kenneth Omeruo comes in for Troost-Ekong, while Bright Osayi-Samuel also plays. Joe Aribo comes in for Iwobi, Moses Simon is preferred to Ademola Lookman out wide.
Equatorial Guinea v Ivory Coast starting lineups
Equatorial Guinea: Owono; Akapo, Fernandez, Coco, Ndong; Pepin; Miranda, Ganet, Bikoro, Salvador; Nsue
Ivory Coast: Y. Fofana; Singo, Conan, Boly, Ndicka; S, Fofana, Sangare, Kessie; Kouame, Pepe, Diakite
Here’s the weekend’s events in the Ivory Coast
Guinea Bissau v Nigeria teams
Guinea Bissau: Jonas Mendes, Houboulang Mendes, Ie, Sangante, Nanu, Bikel, Nito, Quizera, Dalcio, Mendes Gomes, Gano. Subs: Cande, Dju, Djalo, Semedo, Marciano, Djoco, Rodrigues, Encada, Cassama, Mane, Embadje, Ze Turbo.
Nigeria: Nwabali, Aina, Omeruo, Ajayi, Bassey, Samuel, Onyeka, Chukwueze, Aribo, Simon, Osimhen. Subs: Moffi, Uzoho, Sanusi, Troost-Ekong, Musa, Onyemaechi, Iheanacho, Iwobi, Lookman, Onuachu, Awaziem, Nwadike.
Preamble
The AfCon business end is upon us already, and the hosts could really do with a win. Simon Adringra and Sebastian Haller are likely to start for the Ivory Coast against Equatorial Guinea, and that should pep up a low-amped attack. Equatorial Guinea looked rather decent in beating Guinea-Bissau and drawing with Nigeria, so this won’t be easy. Nigeria meanwhile take on a Guinea Bissau team that have zero points and are going home after today. This could be a tense afternoon.
Both matches kick off at 5pm UK time. Join me.