Nigeria claimed the African Cup of Nations (ACN) third-place after defeating Senegal 1-0 in the third-place kick-off that took place on Thursday at the Military Academy Stadium. Garba Lawal netted Nigeria's winner 11 minutes from full-time after connecting a John Utaka cross that missed El-Hadji Diouf and firing the ball back across the goal from an acute angle. The match witnessed Nigeria, who defeated the Teranga Lions 2-1 in the African Cup group stage, put on a mediocre performance in front of Senegal and squander a host of chances to score. Taye Taiwio missed a fantastic opportunity to open the score early for Nigeria when he shot the ball against the Senegalese crossbar from free kick in the 10th minute. Senegal's Guirane N'Daw also squandered a great chance to score for his side after volleying the ball over Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama before hitting the bar. In his final appearance with as Nigeria skipper, Jay-Jay Okocha failed to reach the net once, but put on a remarkable display of skills before being replaced after the hour-mark. With this result, Nigeria claimed the African Cup third-place for their third consecutive time.
