Kelechi Iheanacho’s brilliant first half goal handed Nigeria a 1-0 win against Egypt while Guinea- Bissau missed a late penalty as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Sudan.
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Kelechi Iheanacho’s brilliant first half goal handed Nigeria a 1-0 win against Egypt in their African Cup of Nations Group D clash in Garoua. Egypt striker Mohamed Salah was kept in check as they produced a below-par performance. Meanwhile in the other match of the group, Guinea- Bissau missed a late penalty as they were held by Sudan. Midfielder Pele saw his 82nd-minute spot kick saved by Sudan goalkeeper Ali Abou Achrine, with Piqueti hitting the post from the rebound.
CONTROL. BANG. ?
?? @67Kelechi’s left-footed volley is our #GoalOfTheDay ?#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021| #TeamNigeria | @1xBet_Eng pic.twitter.com/vYr3CHfsvc
— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 ? (@CAF_Online) January 11, 2022
Inside the opening 30 minutes, Iheanacho unleashed a powerful half-volley from the edge of the box that ended up in the top corner. Nigeria played brilliantly and should have scored a couple more goals but were denied by the crossbar and some bad luck.
Early in the second half, Taiwo Awoniyi’s close-range header turned on to the frame of the goal by Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shennawy, before Iheanacho wasted a good chance to double the lead as the ball fell to him in acres of space in the box, but a poor first touch let him down.
Egypt’s star striker Salah was an isolated figure up front as his team failed to shift out of first gear. The Liverpool-man starved for Service and the quality around him to have an influence. The 29-year-old finally got a sight of goal on 70 minutes but, under pressure from two defenders and the keeper, couldn’t get any power into his effort.
Elsewhere, Sudan, who were appearing in their first tournament in 10 years managed to secure a point against Guines-Bissau, who have failed to score in each of their last five Nations Cup matches. Goalkeeper Abdallah turned from villain to hero having brought down Steve Ambri to give away the penalty late in the game.
Sudan seemed content with a point at full time with interim coach Burhan Tia managing the 1970 champions for the first time in a competitive match. The Secretary Birds sacked former boss Hubert Velud last month after a disastrous showing in the Arab cup where they conceded 10 goals and failed to score in three games.
Nigeria Occupy the top spot in Group D with three points from one game while Guinea-Bissau and Sudan have one point each and Egypt are at the bottom with zero point.
