AFCON 2021: How Super Eagles’ potential Round of 16 opponents fared in the opening round

Nigeria are one of 10 teams that managed a win in their first game at the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which put them top of Group D. 

Pulse Sports already established a pool of potential opponents for Nigeria in the Round of 16 based on whether or not they finish the group stages as a winner or runner-up.

If Nigeria wins Group D, they will play against one of the third-placed teams in groups B, E and F. Thanks to that win against Egypt, Nigeria sits top of Group D right now, so let us take a look at the potential opponents as it stands after the first round of games.

Malawi are currently third in Group B, but that is only based on alphabetical order as they have the same stats as Zimbabwe who also lost their first game 1-0.

Either one of these teams is still on course to finish third as projected pre-tournament but their performances in the first game suggests it will be Zimbabwe when it is all said and done.

Malawi were outplayed by Guinea and lost 1-0, but Zimbabwe held Senegal (Africa’s highest-ranked team) up until the 94th minute before Mane’s penalty condemned them also to a 1-0 loss.

In Group E, Sierra Leone are currently third, also on alphabetical order following their impressive goalless draw against Algeria who are second at the moment.

Algeria were favourites to win Group E but they slipped up in the first game and Ivory Coast took full advantage by beating Equatorial Guinea. The change in Group E's power dynamics concerns the Super Eagles because they can either finish second and face the Group E winner or potentially the third-place team if they (Nigeria) win Group D.

This could get interesting if Algeria fails to improve on their first performance and ends the Group Stage in third, or Nigeria slips into second place and faces Ivory Coast as a result instead of Algeria as initially anticipated. The matchups look even more complicated than before.

Speaking of complications, Group F served up some top-shelf drama as Mali controversially defeated Tunisia by a goal to nil which means they are now joint-top of the group with Gambia, who were originally projected to finish third.

Of course, the Tunisians are expected to bounce back and climb up from the bottom of Group F, but what if they fail to do so? In the unlikely event that Tunisia ends the group stage behind Mali and Gambia, they enter the pool of potential Round of 16 opponents for Nigeria if (more like when) they top Group D.

These projections are subject to change as games progress and positions of teams become clearer after the end of the second round of matches.