A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations took place from 13 to 22 January 2024.[1] The group consisted of hosts Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea.[2]
Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria as the top two teams, along with Ivory Coast as one of the four best third-placed teams, advanced to the round of 16.[citation needed]
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Zone | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023[nb 1] | December 2023 | ||||||||
| A1 |  Ivory Coast |
WAFU | Hosts and Group H runners-up | 30 January 2019 | 25th | 2021 | Winners (1992, 2015) | 50 | 49 |
| A2 |  Nigeria |
WAFU | Group A winners | 17 June 2023 | 20th | 2021 | Winners (1980, 1994, 2013) | 40 | 42 |
| A3 |  Equatorial Guinea |
UNIFFAC | Group J runners-up | 17 June 2023 | 4th | 2021 | Fourth place (2015) | 92 | 88 |
| A4 |  Guinea-Bissau |
WAFU | Group A runners-up | 18 June 2023 | 4th | 2021 | Group stage (2017, 2019, 2021) | 106 | 103 |
Notes
- ^ The rankings of October 2023 were used for seeding for the final draw.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Equatorial Guinea
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7[a] | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7[a] | |
| 3 | Ivory Coast (H)
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Guinea-Bissau
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
Matches
All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau
The two teams had met once before, a 4–1 victory for Ivory Coast in the 2001 WAFU Nations Cup qualifying round.[3] However, this match is not considered an “A” match by FIFA as the WAFU Nations Cup was a tournament in which national teams participated only with players from their local league. Therefore, this was the first international “A” match between the two teams.[4] Ivorian forwards Sébastien Haller and Simon Adingra were unavailable for this match due to injuries.[5][6]
Ivory Coast got off to a dream start with a Seko Fofana goal from outside the box in the 4th minute after Bissau-Guinean defenders failed to clear it out. The Ivorians increasingly asserted domination and added their second in the 58th minute, when a deflected cross by Franck Kessié was intercepted by Jean-Philippe Krasso, who skilfully controlled and struck home a volley to seal the three points.[citation needed]
          Ivory Coast
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  Guinea Bissau
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[8]
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Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea
Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea met for the fourth time, with the first two meetings coming in six days in June 2008 during the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification phase, with Nigeria winning 1-0 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on June 15, 2008, and 2-0 in Abuja, Nigeria, on June 21, 2008. In addition, Nigeria defeated Equatorial Guinea 3-1 in a group stage finale at the 2018 African Nations Championship in Agadir, Morocco.
Equatorial Guinea proved more energetic over the early stages. It paid off in the 36th minute when Iban Salvador exquisitely guided the ball into the bottom corner from his position on the penalty spot. However, the lead was canceled out just two minutes later with a bullet header by Victor Osimhen from Ademola Lookman's floated delivery. Despite ramping up pressure later on, Nigeria failed to score and was forced to settle for a draw. [citation needed]
| Nigeria | 1–1 | Equatorial Guinea |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
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     Nigeria
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    Equatorial Guinea
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