Nigeria began their African Nations Championship campaign with a disappointing 1-0 defeat to defending champions Senegal on Tuesday.
The tough clash at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar was settled by a strike by Christian Gomis in the 75th minute, after a mix-up by the Nigerian defense.
The tournament was scheduled to take place in February this year, but was postponed to August due to delay in planning.
The Home-based Eagles had secured qualification and a return to the tournament after missing the last two editions, by defeating rivals Ghana 3-1 on aggregate, while the Lions of Teranga had eliminated Liberia 4-1 on aggregate for a chance to defend their title.
It was a first-ever clash between both West African nations at the Championships and the Super Eagles B-team have a lot of work to do to avoid a shock group stage exit.
The match was evenly matched and was poised to end in a stalemate until Senegal broke the deadlock in the 75th minute.
Serigne Koite pounced on a loose ball after an error in the Nigerian defense and produced a perfect cross to set up Christian Gomis, who slotted in with his left foot for the match’s only goal.
The Home-based Eagles applied pressure late on in search of an equalizer but the Lions of Teranga produced a resilient display to start their title defense with a win.
Senegal claimed their sixth 1-0 win in the competition’s history and extends their unbeaten run against West African opponents.
In the other Group D match on Tuesday, substitute Carly Ekongo scored a late equalizer to rescue a 1-1 draw for Congo against Sudan, who had taken a first half lead through Musa Ali Hussein.
Nigeria will hope to bounce back from the opening match’s disappointment in their next game against Sudan next Tuesday, before rounding up their group stage duties against Congo on the 19th of August.
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