Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea: Super Eagles players rated from best to worst as AFCON campaign gets off to shaky start

Which Super Eagles players impressed and which players disappointed in Nigeria's opening AFCON match against Equatorial Guinea

Nigeria’s Super Eagles opened their AFCON 2023 account with a disappointing 1-1 draw against minnows Equatorial Guinea to put their chances of making the second round in jeopardy.

Despite the discouraging result, several players still gave good accounts of themselves, while others were put on shocking displays

Player ratings

Alhassan Yusuf — 7

Alhassan Yusuf’s performance made his initial omission from the Super Eagles squad a travesty. He embodied the role of a box-to-box midfielder Created the biggest chance of the opening half with a superb cross for Zaidu Sanusi but was denied an assist by subpar finishing from the full-back.

Ademola Lookman — 6

The Atalanta forward was anonymous out wide for much of the first half but came alive as he took up more central positions. He showed his quality with a pin-point assist for Victor Osimhen to equalise for the Super Eagles and was a menace to the Equatorial Guinea defence for the rest of the game.

Ola Aina — 6

Impressive going forward on the right for the Super Eagles against Equatorial Guinea, Aina was a surprise substitute late on, as he still appeared to have something to offer the team.

Frank Onyeka — 6

Frank Onyeka was mostly on the periphery of things against Equatorial Guinea, but that is exactly what you want from a defensive anchor.

He still made more tackles than any other Nigerian player and won seven of eight duels contested

Victor Osimhen — 6

The Napoli forward could have had a hat-trick against Equatorial Guinea but will be glad to have scored Nigeria’s equaliser.

He will likely be in for a healthy helping of criticism for the chances he missed, but should also be given credit for his effort to get in the right positions and impressive hold-up play as well.

Alex Iwobi — 5

Not Iwobi’s best game for the Super Eagles, but he will still feel like he was owed an assist after expertly playing Victor Oismhen through on goal in the second half, only to see the Napoli striker uncharacteristically fluff his line.

Moses Simon — 5

Moses Simon appeared to struggle with the constant need to switch wings against Equatorial Guinea and bar his audacious effort, which forced Jesus Owono into a desperate save, the Nantes forward was unable to have a real impact on the match.

Stanley Nwabali — 5

There was scarcely anything Nwabali could have done to avoid conceding the only goal of the game, but Francis Uzoho’s replacement in goal did not spark a lot of confidence yet again with a performance that was timid at times.

William Troost-Ekong — 5

Another unlikely starter, Troost-Ekong was solid if unspectacular at the back and showed the alm and leadership that he was brought in for to help the Super Eagles’ efforts at keeping Equatorial GUinea at bay.

Semi Ajayi — 5

He struggled against a Spanish third division right back moonlighting as a forward for Equatorial Guinea and was fortunate not to have conceded a penalty for a handball early in the game. Ajayi found his footing after a shaky start and was dependable for the majority of the match.

Substitutes

Joe Aribo — 4

Brought on as a replacement for the injured Yusuf, Aribo was unable to make a real difference in the match during the 21 minutes he spent on the pitch.

Samuel Chukwueze — 3

Brought on to inject some spark into the wings, Chukwueze fell victim to familiar demons as he displayed worrying decision-making on the ball once again, failing to tee up Osimhen with an easy chance when the duo found themselves two-on-one with an Equatorial Guinea defender.

Calvin Bassey

Not enough time to make an impact

Bright Osayi-Samuel

Not enough time to make an impact

Paul Onuachu

Not enough time to make an impact

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