By Joe Apu
Interim Head coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen has described Nigeria’s victory as a hard-fought one insisting that the Falcons were no pushover.
Speaking after the game, Eguavoen told reporters that the Sudanese side came out fighting like wounded lions and seeking to have a chance at qualification for the next round.
“The Sudanese were not easy to play. They knew that they were down and had no fear of falling. They played having in mind that a draw or win would increase their chance as qualifying as one of the best losers.”
Nigeria cruised to a 3-1 win over Group D rivals Sudan at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua on Saturday, thereby securing progress into the knockout phase of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Following their opening win over Egypt, the Super Eagles moved to six points and guaranteed themselves a top-two finish in the group thanks to goals from Samuel Chukwueze, Taiwo Awoniyi and Moses Simon.
The Falcons of Jediane, meanwhile, have just one point from two games but remain in with a chance of advancing if they can win their final group game against Egypt on Wednesday. Their consolation goal was scored by Walieldien Khedr from the penalty spot.
Nigeria had the perfect start to the game when they claimed the lead in just the third minute: a long throw-in was controlled in the penalty area by Moses Simon, who teed up Samuel Chukwueze to score with a low, left-footed shot beyond Sudan goalkeeper Ali Abu-Eshrein.
Sudan looked for a quick reply and threatened on 10 minutes when Abdelrazig Omer burst into space on the right of the penalty area, but he was denied by a sliding challenge from Zaidu Sanusi.
That was as good as it got from an attacking point of view for the Falcons of Jediane in the opening 45 minutes, with the Super Eagles creating plenty of play in the opposite direction