Sports
EXACTLY 10 years ago, Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 to win their third Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), sparking wide celebrations across the country.
Sunday Mba netted the only goal at the National Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa against the Stallions in a keenly-contested game.
He gave dominant Nigeria the breakthrough in the 39th minute, clipping the ball over Mohamed Koffi before volleying it into the far corner to seal the crown for the Super Eagles.
“Winning this is mainly for my nation – when I came on board a year and a half ago my dream was to make all Nigerians happy, and to construct a great Nigerian team. We are not there yet, it’s still in process,” the late Keshi said then.
Going into the match, the Stephen Keshi-led team outmuscled the Eagles of Mali 4-1 in the semi-final. That came on the back of what many pundits described as a statement victory over Ivory Coast in the last eight.
The Ivorians, hot-favourite for the title in South Africa, came up against a Nigerian side that had struggled to impress in the earlier stages of the tournament.
Coming up against a Didier Drogba-inspired Ivory Coast looking for their maiden continental crown, the Super Eagles conceded first but Mba and Emmanuel Emenike turned the tide in the Nigerians’ favour, winning 2-1.
In Group C containing Burkina Faso, Zambia, and Ethiopia, the West Africans squeezed out just one win – in their last game – after drawing their first two matches.
2013 is the last AFCON Nigeria won. The team have only managed to finish third at the 2019 edition after failing to make the tournament in 2015 and 2017.
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