TWO Nigeria’s senior men football team- Super Eagles opponents; Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea in the 2023 African Cup of Nations, AFCON have recorded more wins than the Super Eagles in their last five matches, The ICIR checks reveal.
The three countries including Guinea-Bissau are currently in Group A of 2023 AFCON which started on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
Before the kickoff of the tournament, The ICIR analysed the last five matches of the four countries; Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, in an attempt to gain insights into the strength of the teams.
Among the four countries, the host country- Ivory Coast has the record of three wins and two draws in the last five matches.
In their last five matches, they recorded 18 goals and conceded 3 goals, a vivid picture of the strength of their attacks and firm resilience in the defense line.
A breakdown of their last five matches includes a 5-0 victory against Sierra Leone, a 2-0 win against The Gambia, and defeating Seychelles 9-0.
It was against South Africa and Morocco, they recorded 1-1 respectively.
In addition to their opening match against Equatorial Guinea, the country won by 2-0.
Also Equatorial Guinea, a team from Central Africa. They pose a threat to other countries in Group A as they recorded two wins and three draws in the last five matches before starting their 2023 AFCON campaign.
Unlike Ivory Coast’s basket of goals, they recorded 2 goals and conceded two in a match which ended goalless in their last five matches.
The results of their last five matches were a 1-1 draw against Djibouti and Libya and while 1-0 victory against Liberia and Namibia. It was the fixture against Burkina Faso, they played a goalless draw.
Their low goals and conceding less but securing the maximum three points reflect the country’s solid defense but low goal-scoring ability.
Their opening match in ongoing 2023 AFCON was against Nigeria which ended 1-1.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ last five matches before the 2023 AFCON were topsy-turvy as they lost 0-2 against Guinea during the Pre-AFCON game. They played a 1-1 draw against Lesotho and Zimbabwe during the 2026 World Cup qualifying series.
However, they mustered strength to edge Mozambique 3-2 in a friendly and recorded a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia.
The results of their last five matches show they recorded seven goals and conceded eight goals, translating to a deficit of a goal and a reflection of the flurry of attack and porous defense line.
They began their 2023 AFCON with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau’s last five matches before the 2023 AFCON were not a stroll in the park as they lost 2-6 to Mali and 0-1 to Guinea.
However, they recorded two wins; 1-0 against Djibouti and a 2-1 victory against Sierra Leone but played a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso.
Results of their matches show that they recorded seven goals and nine goals, revealing a two-goal deficit and a vivid picture of weak defense and average attacking strength.
They lost their opening AFCON match to the host Cote d’Ivoire, 0-2.