The Super Eagles of Nigeria bounced back to reckoning on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Cote D’Ivoire at the ongoing AFCON in their second group stage game.
They had earlier played a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in what many regarded as a poor outing for the three times AFCON Champions.
Eagles have always been tipped as one of the favourites of the African showpiece due to their rich history and records.
Historically, beating Cote D’Ivoire at every turn has now been connected to helping Nigeria win the trophy. This has been proven in the 1994 and 2013 editions.
Apart from winning the trophy on three occasions, Nigeria remains the only country to have won the third place final(bronze medal) than any other country.
The Nigerian team were finalist on seven occasions, seven time third place winner and four times silver bronze medal winners.
Nigeria’s first AFCON glory was in 1980 when they hosted and won the tournament in Lagos. The team defeated their Algerian counterparts 3-0 in the final match played in Lagos.
In Tunisia in 1994, Nigeria won the tournament for the second time. For the purpose of record and history however, the Eagles defeated the Cote D’Ivoire team in the semifinals 4-2 on penalties after playing out 2-2 in the regulation time in the 1994 editions.
They would later go on to win the tournament after beating Zambia 2-1 in the final.
In 2013, Nigeria won the AFCON by defeating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final. The Eagles at this edition also defeated the Ivory Coast team 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
Now in 2023 edition of the tournament which is being played in 2024, Eagles has once again defeated the Cote D’Ivoire team who are the host of the tournament.
Nigerians are now beginning to ask questions if what happened in 1994 and 2013 will repeat itself. Will Eagles now win the AFCON having defeated the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire? Only time will tell.