Nigeria, favorite in the first quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations, did not strain its talent to beat Angola 1-0 and qualify for the last four of the competition, Friday at the Félix Houphouët stadium. Boigny to Abidjan.
The Super Eagles, three-time African champions, impressive against Cameroon in the previous round (2-0), made the difference at the end of the first period by Ademola Lookman, well served by Moses Simon (41st).
Nigeria will face on Wednesday the winner of the quarter-final between the two revelations of this CAN, Cape Verde and South Africa, scheduled for Saturday.
José Peseiro’s men, sure of their strength, confiscated the ball during the first act during which the Palancas Negras remained faithful to what seemed to be their game plan: stay compact, defend low and place counter-attacks.
For a long time, this plan seemed to work against the technically superior Super Eagles, but who sorely lacked sharpness in the last move. With their minimalist strategy, however, the Palancas Negras created the first big chance of the match, a post found by scorer Mabululu in the 5th minute of play.
Third goal for Lookman
Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen (d) believes he scored against Angola but the goal will be disallowed by the VAR for offside, February 2, 2024 in Abidjan / Issouf SANOGO / AFP
Surrounded by two wisps Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria star Victor Osimhen weighed heavily on the Angolan defense, but was unlucky in particular on two big chances in this first act (24th, 35th).
On a high recovery, the Naples striker served as a decoy by mobilizing two opponents, allowing Moses Simon to drop the slightly lax full-back Gaspar before sending a back cross to Lookman who deceived goalkeeper Antonio Signori with force. (41).
His 3rd goal in this tournament after his double in the round of 16 against Cameroon.
This goal at least had the merit of waking the Palencas Negras from their lethargy because in the process Estrela attempted to break through the Nigerian defense before being blocked at the last minute by captain Troost-Ekong (44th).
Back on the field, the Super Eagles once again sent a shiver through the Palancas defense but Zeidu’s shot hit the crossbar, while Iwobi’s long shot brushed the post while Signori was well beaten (47th , 48th).
After this alert, the Angolans reacted with Zini, launched behind the defense, who sent a tense shot onto the post (60th). But at the same time, forced to play the game to come back to the score, they exposed themselves to the Nigerian attacks which multiplied.
A quarter of an hour from the end, on one of them, Osimhen scored for the Super Eagles but his goal was invalidated by the VAR. Never mind, with this fourth success, the Super Eagles will play their sixteenth semi-final of the continental tournament.
