Nigeria finished Group C with a perfect record after beating 10-man Uganda 3-1 in Fes.

Paul Onuachu opened the scoring in the first half, finishing from close range to give his side a deserved lead. Nigeria’s task was made easier in the second half when Ugandan substitute goalkeeper Jamal Salim handled the ball outside his 18-yard box.

Raphael Onyedika hammered home Nigeria’s advantage from there, scoring twice in four minutes to put the result beyond doubt. 10-man Uganda were able to get on the scoresheet, though, as Rogers Mato finished nicely to give them a consolation.

Nigeria had already won Group C while Uganda have been eliminated.Nigeria go three from three once again

It shouldn’t be lost on anyone the achievement of Nigeria finishing the group stage with maximum points.

It is just the second time since 2008 that they have won all three of their group games — also doing it in Cameroon four years ago.

The expansion of the tournament to 24 teams means, in theory, that there are more ‘lesser’ teams but it is an impressive feat from Eric Chelle’s men nonetheless.And they hope to have further reason to smile as their side advances to the knock-outs!

Nigeria are always a favourite to make a deep run at AFCON and this year is no different. And he was not the only one in a much-changed starting team for Nigeria.

Food for thought for Eric Chelle on the possibilities of rotation in his side as they progress through the tournament.Uganda were still reasonably in the match until Salim was sent off — then things changed.

Going a man down against a team of Nigeria’s depth and talent is always going to cause challenges.

And so it proved!They were helped by the second half red card, but it was always a game that Nigeria were expected to dominate — and that is exactly what they did.

Uganda had their moments, but it was another quality performance from Eric Chelle’s men — here are the stats from their third-straight victory.

Uganda 1-3 Nigeria

Shots: 9 – 13

Shots on target: 1 – 6

Big chances: 1 – 5

xG: 0.78 – 2.46

Possession: 28% – 72%

Accurate passes: 164 – 528

Corners: 2 – 3

Tackles: 10 – 9

Fouls committed: 6 – 14

Red cards: 1 – 0 (Salim)

Yellow cards: 1 – 2 (Ikpeazu; Bassey, Awaziem)