William Troost-Ekong penalty gave the Super Eagles of Nigeria a 1-0 victory over hosts Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday.
The Nigeria captain struck from the spot early in the second half in Abidjan as the Super Eagles claimed their first victory of the tournament and leapfrogged the Ivorians in Group A.
Ivory Coast spurned a host of chances and paid the price after Ousmane Diomande was adjudged to have fouled Victor Osimhen in the area following a review by VAR.
The result meant Nigeria drew level with Equatorial Guinea on four points in the group, while Ivory Coast have three with one game to play.
Napoli forward Osimhen went close to giving Nigeria an early lead when he outpaced Serge Aurier, but he was unable to keep his shot down.
That proved a rare opening for Nigeria in the first half, as Ivory Coast dominated.
Christian Kouame was a threat up front for Ivory Coast but headed well over under pressure from Troost-Ekong.
Kouame shot on the turn after Zaidu Sanusi failed to deal with a bouncing ball, but goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali blocked it.
Kouame also pulled back across goal to tee up Evan Ndicka, but he volleyed straight at Nwabali.
Nwabali then kept out a long-range effort from Seko Fofana, and Sanusi reacted quickly to block Kouame’s follow-up attempt.
Nigeria seized the initiative early in the second half after Diomande appeared to kick Osimhen in a challenge. Play was initially allowed to go on, but the referee reversed his decision after reviewing the pitchside monitor.
Former Watford defender Troost-Ekong made no mistake as he smashed home the resulting spot-kick.
Ivory Coast responded, but Ousmane Diomande headed well over, and Ibrahim Sangare also missed the target.
Fofana went closer as the hosts stepped up the pressure, but his shot flew wide, and Ndicka missed with a back-post header.
Bright Osayi-Samuel spurned a chance to wrap up victory for Nigeria when he delayed a shot, but Ivory Coast failed to threaten again despite applying late pressure.
Nigeria leapfrogged the Elephants to go second in Group A and are behind leaders Equatorial Guinea, who beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2 earlier on Thursday on a head-to-head record.
The Ivorians have three points after two games and will now need to beat Equatorial Guinea on Monday (17:00 GMT) to guarantee progress to the knockout stage.
Nigeria, whose four points could already be enough to see the three-time winners through, face Guinea-Bissau (17:00 GMT) in their final Group A fixture.
