Matchday two of the Africa Cup of Nations in Group C offered plenty of excitement in terms of impressive individual performances and goals as all four teams managed to find the back of the net, Footynaija.com reports.
Uganda and Tanzania battled to a 1-1 draw courtesy of goals from Uche Ikpeazu and Simon Msuva respectively to register their first points of this AFCON campaign after suffering defeats on opening day.
Nigeria and Tunisia meanwhile treated spectators to a nerve-wracking five goal thriller, with the Super Eagles emerging 3-2 winners to take the driving seat in the group and secure a place in the round of 16.
After a goal-blessed round of matches, here are some of the best performers from Group C.
Ademola Lookman – Nigeria
The Atalanta man, who kicked off his AFCON campaign with a superb strike against Tanzania on opening day, followed it up with an even more impressive outing on matchday two.
Lookman created Nigeria’s first two goals, setting up Victor Osimhen and Wilfred Ndidi before notching in the third after a swift break. He was unarguably Group C’s most influential player on matchday two.
Victor Osimhen – Nigeria
Osimhen is never one to shy away from imposing himself on a game of football, and the Super Eagles striker did just that in his nation’s matchday two victory over Tunisia.
The Galatasaray man found the gap between Tunisia’s center back pairing of Dylan Bronn and Montassar Talbi to guide in Lookman’s sublime cross for Nigeria’s opener, before returning the favour by teeing up the Atalanta man 17 minutes later.
Wilfred Ndidi – Nigeria
The Super Eagles skipper is no stranger to dominant displays in the middle of the park but one thing he isn’t used to is bagging goals in the colours of the Nigeria national team.
Ndidi capped an impressive outing against Tunisia with his first international goal, heading in Lookman’s corner kick to provide the Super Eagles with a two-goal cushion in the 50th minute.
Hannibal Mejbri – Tunisia
Mejbri, who enjoyed a fantastic outing on matchday one when he inspired the Carthage Eagles to a comprehensive 3-1 win over Uganda, gave another great account of himself against the Super Eagles despite Tunisia’s defeat.
While the Burnley man initially struggled to find much joy for large parts of the game, he was central to Tunisia’s late resurgence. He provided the assist for their first goal and remained a central figure as they pushed Nigeria till the very end.
Simon Msuva – Tanzania
Msuva stood out as the most impressive player from Uganda and Tanzania’s 1-1 draw. The Tanzanian forward was central to everything positive the Taifa Stars did in the final third including converting a 59th minute penalty awarded as a result of a hand ball by Uganda’s Baba Alhassan.
