Nigeria needed a late goal from substitute Odion Ighalo to claim a 1-0 win over a brave Burundi side playing their first-ever match at the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday, reports Reuters.
Ighalo, set free by Ola Aina’s clever flicked pass, side-footed the ball past Burundi goalkeeper Jonathan Nahimana in the 77th minute, four minutes after coming on in the opening Group B match.
It was tough on Burundi who refused to be overawed and enjoyed slightly the better of the first half, with Frederic Nsabiyumva heading against the crossbar from a set-piece.
“We couldn’t have produced a better performances because Burundi were very organised,” said Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr.
“We knew Burundi were unbeaten in the qualifiers, and we knew the first matches would be difficult. These teams don’t have anything to lose, they know us and know how to organise against us.”
Fearless and uninhibited, Burundi gave as good as they got in an entertaining first half as they forced Daniel Akpeyi to make two difficult saves and hit the crossbar.
Cedric Amissi had Burundi’s first chance when he latched onto a ball sent over the top of the Nigeria defence and unleashed a powerful volley which Akpeyi did well to block. Akpeyi was also tested by Gael Bigirimana’s swerving 30-metre free kick, before a looping Frederic Nsabiyumva header from a set-piece bounced off the top of the crossbar.
Nigeria were dangerous down the flanks with Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi although most crosses were cut out by the Burundi defence. Paul Onuachu was closest in the 14th minute with a header which forced a good save by Jonathan Nahimana.
Nigeria replaced captain John Obi Mikel with Ahmed Musa just before the hour in a bid to add to some speed to the attack but they continued to fail to make the final pass count.
However, one moment of inspiration settled the game. Aina wrong-footed the Burundi defence with his backheeled pass and left Ighalo to place a perfect finish wide of the goalkeeper.
Uganda won at the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in more than 40 years as they upset the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in their opening Group A match at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.
Both goals came from set-pieces as Patrick Kaddu headed home a 14th-minute corner and then Emmanuel Okwi got a touch onto a free kick just after halftime.
Uganda last won at the finals in 1978 when they beat Nigeria in the semi-finals and finished runners-up to hosts Ghana.
Saturday’s surprise win served notice of the potential of a team not given much chance of progressing past the first round.
Kaddu attacked the ball at the near post and got a sharp angle to his twisting header for the first goal.
He had a good chance to score a second, also with a header from a cross-field ball, just three minutes later but put it wide of the target as the Congolese defence was beaten again.
Uganda also shaved the crossbar with a shot from Farouk Miya four minutes from halftime while at the other end their goalkeeper Denis Onyango had his first save after 43 minutes when he stopped Cedric Bakambu’s effort.
Okwi’s goal came when he looped the ball over Congolese goalkeeper Ley Matampi with a flick-on.
Miya almost made it 3-0 in the 56th minute with a rasping shot that Matampi did well to save while Congolese substitute Jonathan Bolingi hit the Uganda crossbar with a 70th-minute header.
The result is a setback for the languid-looking Congolese, who were semi-finalists in 2015 and quarter-finalists two years ago.
The match was played in soaring temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius and in front of a largely empty stadium, in stark contrast to Friday’s opening game where some 70,000 fans packed into the iconic venue for the opening game of the tournament as hosts Egypt beat Zimbabwe 1-0.
