Nigeria’s Super Eagles won their second consecutive match of Group D at the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, beating their Sudanese counterparts 3-1 to stay top of their group and most importantly guaranteeing passage to the knockout stages of the competition.
An early goal from Samuel Chukwueze, and a fortuitous header from Taiwo Awoniyi just before the break, gave Nigeria a comfortable lead going into half time. Moses Simon’s Nigeria’s tally immediately after the restart to take Nigeria 3-0 up, but Maduka Okoye was denied a clean sheet after Walieldin Khidir converted from the spot.
At some point of the game, Nigeria looked to be in firm control of the game, they were for majority of the match, but Sudan themselves looked like being capable of overturning the deficit, although they rarely troubled Nigeria.
Chukwueze glided in a pass from the impressive Moses Simon, to set the tone for the Super Eagles, and although the former looked lively, he frustrated at times, giving away passes trying to do it all alone. Nigeria had a sequence of play which resulted in Williams Troost-Ekong, Joe Aribo and Taiwo Awoniyi all missing chances within a minute.
Nigeria did find the net, just minutes to half time through Awoniyi and it was a goal the striker knew little about. Ekong’s flicked header ricocheted off Awoniyi’s head to gift Nigeria a deserving 2-0 lead.
In a game Nigeria didn’t have the fluidity like they did against Egypt, it was more about getting the job done. At the restart, Nigeria immediately increased their lead to three goals, with Moses latching on to a lobbed pass from Kelechi Iheanacho, and finishing nicely.
More chances came Nigeria’s way, but having gone 3-0 up, there wasn’t much incentive to apply the killer blow. When Ola Aina gave away a penalty kick, Nigeria having made a raft of changes still held on to secure the win.
The Super Eagles with the victory, became the third team after the hosts Cameroon and Morocco to qualify for the Round 16, and they are the only countries to have a 100 percent record so far.
