Guinea Bissau scored 4 minutes away from the half-hour mark after Balde dispatched a ball through Uzoho’s leg to give the visitors the lead
By Kehinde Okeowo
Guinea Bissau leapfrogged Nigeria to go top of Group A after earning a 1-0 win in a match played at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Friday.
A 26th-minute goal was all the visitors needed to shock the 2013 AFCON winners on home soil and hand them a famous victory.
Heading into Friday’s match, Nigeria was brimming with confidence having Serie A topscorer Victor Osimhen and Atalanta’s Lookman Ademola in their ranks.
Expectedly, the Super Eagles began the game on a good note with Villareal’s Samuel Chukwueze threatening the visitors.
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Osimhen had the chance to give Nigeria the lead but the Guinea Bissau goalkeeper Jonas Mendes denied him.
However, it was the Djurtus who made the breakthrough four minutes away from the half-hour mark as an inviting long ball split the Super Eagles’ defence and fell to a chasing Mama Samba Balde who dispatched the ball through Francis Uzoho’s leg to give his side the lead.
The visitors almost doubled the margin after a swift counterattack a few minutes later but only found the side net.
Nigeria’s coach Jose Peseiro threw Paul Onuachu and Moses Simon into the game – subbing Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho – as hostilities started for the second half.
Wilfred Ndidi’s weak effort, and Moses’ wide shots – all coming in the latter stages of the encounter – were all products of the team’s waves of attack.
But Guinea Bissau held on to claim a famous victory over Nigeria, a win that catapulted them to the summit of the group with seven points from three games.
Nigeria will be aiming to make amends in the second leg of the encounter at the Estadio 24 de Setembro in Bissau on Monday.