Super Eagles need to win their Monday group A match for a realistic chance of topping the and remain in Abidjan where their Round of 16 opponent will be any of the third placed teams in groups C, D or E.
Their last group match against Guinea Bissau is their 100th match since their debut in 1963.
The century match is not the only milestone ahead. Winning the match entails scoring of goals. Super Eagles first goal on Monday will be the team’s 140th since their 1963 debut.
Therefore, who ever opens scoring for the Super Eagles will be registering the team’s 140th goal in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria’s haul is currently 139. When Asuquo Ekpe scored against Egypt in Kumasi in 1963 to bring scoreline to 3-1 in an eventual 6-3 loss, he became the first Nigerian to score at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Obinna Nsofor scored Nigeria’s 100th goal when he found the net in the sixth minute of a quarter-final match with Tunisia on 6 February 2006 in Port Said in Egypt. The match ended 1-1 and Nigeria went ahead 5-6 penalties.
Nwankwo Kanu’s spot kick, which was he hesitatingly took as the only person who had not taken partook in the penalty shootout, happened to be the last of the kicks.
It was the only time the former African Footballer of the Year found the net in five editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Austin Jay Jay Okocha scored the milestone 1,000th goal in the Africa Cup of Nations history when he converted from the penalty spot in the 4-0 defeat of South Africa in 2004 in Tunisia.
