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Leicester City of England attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho scored on his debut at the Africa Cup of Nations, as he struck for Nigeria in their Group D opener against seven-time winners, Egypt, on an evening Emil Maduka Okoye, Taiwo Awoniyi, Zaidu Sanusi and Joe Aribo also made their bow.
Iheanacho, who missed the 2019 edition in Egypt on account of poor form at his club, made the best of a rare spot in the starting line-up to net his 13th goal overall for the Eagles, as he led a total of five Nigerian players making history on Tuesday with their AFCON debuts.
Megasportsarena.com reports that it came after Eagles’ interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen gave the nod to Okoye in goal, Sanusi at left-back, Aribo in midfield plus the duo of Iheanacho and Awoniyi upfront, through which the Leicester ace made hay after 30 minutes of play in Garoua, Cameroon.
It was a reunion from their Golden Eaglets’ days for Awoniyi and Iheanacho, as they also paired en route to winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup of 2013 in United Arab Emirates, while Aribo and Okoye represented the plethora of Eagles’ players that were born abroad.
Another player born abroad, William Troost-Ekong captained the side, as Ahmed Musa continues edging towards retirement, in the same way Stephen Okechukwu Keshi paved way for Eguavoen to serve as stand-in captain towards winning the 1994 AFCON in Tunisia.
Troost-Ekong got the nod to start alongside Kenneth Omeruo in central defence, while another player born in England, Ola Aina fit into right-back, with Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi in defensive midfield, while Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze starred down the flanks.
That provided the shape of the history seeking squad lined out by Eguavoen and Iheanacho justified his inclusion by scoring the first goal of the match, as the Eagles looked to shock the more favoured Pharaohs.
Eguavoen’s roster had just two changes from the eleven that started against Coton Sport for their build-up game last Friday, with Musa and Chidera Ejuke making way for Chukwueze and Simon respectively.
The average age of the starting line-up was 24.91 years – with Aribo, Iheanacho, Ndidi and Aina all aged 25, making it the first time Nigeria fielded a first 11 at AFCON without a player over the age of 30 since their semi-final loss to Ghana on January 28, 2010.
It also meant Simon got his seventh consecutive start for the Eagles, more than any other in the starting 11, dating back to the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier against Liberia, but Iheanacho has scored the most international goals among the lot.
Eagles’ starting 11: Okoye, Aina, Troost-Ekong, Omeruo, Sanusi, Ndidi, Aribo, Iheanacho, Chukwueze, Awoniyi, Simon.
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