The Super Eagles of Nigeria faced disappointment in their AFCON 2023 opener, settling for a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, witnessed by 8,500 fans. Emilio Nsue, the captain of Equatorial Guinea, shared his thoughts on the performance and outcome in an interview with Sportblog247.com.

Jose Machine’s precise pass in the 36th minute set up Iban Salvador for the opening goal, but Napoli forward Victor Osimhen quickly equalized for Nigeria.

Nsue expressed contentment with the point earned but conveyed dissatisfaction with the overall performance. Despite Nigeria’s dominance in goal attempts and shots on target, Nsue highlighted the need to improve and acknowledged the significance of the upcoming match.

“We played a very good game in the first half. We are happy for the point, but we are not happy with the performance. The next game is the most important one for us; we have to look at it and improve,” he stated.

When questioned about the potential of a 2-1 scoreline being a better result, Nsue acknowledged missed chances in the first half and emphasized their happiness with the point but not the overall performance.

Regarding Equatorial Guinea’s aspirations in the tournament, especially against a formidable team like Nigeria, Nsue laughed off the idea of contending for the AFCON trophy.

“I don’t think so. It’s just the first game; we have time to improve. Our target is to go game by game, not to win the AFCON,” he stated.