The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Friday beat Angola to advance into the semi-final game of the ongoing 2023 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup in Cote d’Ivoire.
A lone goal from Ademola Lookman in the 41st minute gave Nigeria the lead and victory into the AFCON semi-finals.
The 1-0 scoreline flattered Angola, who were second best for long periods of the game, and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen had a 75th-minute header ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee (VAR).
Angola’s best chance fell to Zine, who rolled the ball against the base of the post when clean through on goal just before the hour mark.
Nigeria will now face the winner of Saturday’s quarter-final between Cape Verde and South Africa in the last four next Wednesday.
If possible, the humidity inside the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium appeared to have gone up another notch from previous games at the finals but both sets of players gave their all despite the conditions to entertain what ended up being a near-capacity crowd.
Angola carved out the first chance of the game, as Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali tipped Mabululu’s effort away following Gilberto’s flick-on from a corner.
But the Palancas Negras showed little intention of over-attacking in the first period, preferring to sit deep and soak up pressure before launching counter-attacks.
The tactic worked well to limit their opponents until just before half-time when Simon was the architect of Lookman’s goal.
