William Troost-Ekong’s second-half penalty gave Nigeria a 1-0 win over Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, turning up the heat on the host country whose hopes of reaching the last 16 remain in the balance.

During a VAR check, Victor Osimhen was found to have been fouled, and Captain Troost-Ekong scored from the penalty spot ten minutes into the second half at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium in Abidjan.

Ivorian Coach Jean-Louis Gasset made two changes to his lineup, playing Serge Aurier at right-back and Christian Kouame on the right flank. However, Ivory Coast’s star forward Sebastien Haller remained out of action with an injury.

Calvin Bassey of Fulham joined the Super Eagles in a three-man central defence as they began the game without injured midfielder Alhassan Yusuf.

Three-time winners Nigeria failed to muster a single effort early on as Osimhen, the African footballer of the year, led the attack and blazed a nice chance over the bar.

READ ALSO:

Ivory Coast saw Stanley Nwabili deny Kouame moments after that, and the Nigeria goalkeeper also kept out a powerful long-range strike by Seko Fofana.

There was a disappointing lack of quality in the final third from both teams, and the game ultimately hinged on the penalty call early in the second half.

Osimhen stayed down in the area after being caught by Ivorian defender Ousmane Diomande, and a spot-kick was given by the Algerian referee after he studied the pitch side monitor.

Defender Troost-Ekong stepped up to take the penalty, beating Yahia Fofana with a powerful strike down the middle.

Nigeria then held on through nine added minutes to win the first meeting of the sides at the AFCON since a quarter-final in 2013, the year they last lifted the trophy.