QINHUANGDAO, China (AP) - Peter Odemwingie scored in the first half and Victor Obinna converted a late penalty Saturday to lead Nigeria to a 2-0 win over African rival Ivory Coast and into the semifinals of men's football.
Odemwingie hit a right-footed strike past Ivorian goalkeeper Vincent Angina in the 44th, and Obinna added the second goal in the 80th after defender Souleymane Bamba took down Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi in the box.
Nigeria advance to take on Belgium, who upset Italy 3-2 earlier, in the semifinals on Tuesday in Shanghai. The victory over Ivory Coast also assures Nigeria their best Olympic showing since it became the first African nation to win gold in football at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
Both Nigeria and Ivory Coast struggled to find any sort of rhythm in a sloppy first half that saw players knocking easy balls out of bounds and hitting errant passes to the opposing team. Other than a group of Nigerian fans dressed in green and white that danced and played on trumpets and drums, there was little excitement for the crowd of almost 29,000 in Qinhuangdao until Odemwingie's strike on the counter in the 44th.
Pushing upfield after an Ivory Coast free kick, Obinna raced forward and slipped the ball to Odemwingie, who first-timed a low right-footed drive from 15 meters (yards) past the finger tips of the diving goalkeeper Vincent Angban and inside the far post.
'Every game we've tried to improve,' Nigeria coach Samson Siasia said. 'Today I think we played technically very, very sound. We had our chances on breakaways, and the first chance we had was a goal, so I was very, very pleased.'
Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi almost doubled the lead just after halftime, but the forward hit his left-footed volley from 12 meters (yards) out straight at Angban.
Ivory Coast, making its first appearance in the men's Olympic football tournament, finally seemed to find a rhythm up front as it pushed forward in search of an equalizer.
The Ivorians' first quality scoring opportunity of the match came in the 51st when substitute Franck Dja Djedje's cross found Salomon Kalou. The Chelsea striker turned and flicked the ball from 8 meters (yards) out, forcing a diving save from Nigeria 'keeper Ambruse Vanzekin to push past the post.
Ivorian striker Gervinho threatened in the 70th. He skipped past two defenders and hit a right-footed drive from the top of the area, but Vanzekin pushed the shot past the post. Minutes later, Vanzekin denied Kafoumba Coulibaly from 10 meters (yards) out.
'It was a very close match between two hard working sides,' Ivory Coast coach Gerard Gili said. 'Both teams had a lot of opportunities, but they took their chances and we didn't.'
Ivory Coast continued to press but it was Nigeria that found the net as time wound down, when Bamba took down Ogbuke Obasi in the box and Iranian referee Masoud Moradi pointed to the spot. Obinna calmly converted the ensuing penalty with a blast into the upper right-hand corner to put the game out of reach.
Obinna said the Nigerians watched a 10-man Belgium side beat Italy 3-2 on television before their own match kicked off in Qinhuangdao.
'They are quite a competitive team with good players,' he said. 'But I believe that if we play to instructions, as coach has said, that we will be able to carry the day.'
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