Ademola Lookman was once again the difference for Nigeria as the three-time African champions eliminated Angola from the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to become the first nation to proceed into the competition’s semi-finals.
The Black Sable Antelopes almost grabbed the game’s opener in the third minute when Fredy’s corner was flicked into the path of Mabululu, but the 31-year-old was brilliantly denied by Stanley Nwabali who won the race against fitness having picked up a knock in Cameroon’s ouster.
The early scare no doubt brought Nigeria back to reality, as the West African side took it as a cue to work their way back into the clash.
Victor Osimhen had two chances to put the Super Eagles ahead, but the Napoli marksman somehow couldn’t direct his efforts past Antonio Dominique.
It looked as though the first half was headed towards a stalemate, but Nigeria had other plans, as Moses Simon gracefully evaded Kialonda Gaspar’s tackle to set Lookman up in a promising position. The Atalanta forward, in turn, smashed the ball into the net to break the deadlock at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, three minutes away from the 45th-minute mark.
Contrary to the opening minutes of the first half, the Black Sable Antelopes lacked confidence in the second, allowing Jose Peseiro’s men to increase their grip on the contest, although Alex Iwobi and Zaidu Sanusi couldn’t well leverage the chances they got.
Pedro Gonçalves’ men, however, started regaining their confidence, but not soon did they get it; Nigeria struck again, this time through Osimhen who scored a trademark header from Lookman’s free-kick, only for the video assistant referee (VAR) to cut short the celebrations for a marginal offside
The ex-Lille star could have finally put his name on the scoresheet after a quick counter ended with him in a promising position to score, but his cutback was thwarted by Gaspar to preserve Angola’s hope of getting back into the game.
Be that as it may, the Super Eagles held on to their slim lead to deny Angola of their first-ever semi-final appearance and set up a last-four clash against the winners of Saturday’s quarter-final match between Cape Verde and South Africa.
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