Published on February 2, 2024 Reading: 2 minutes.
Nigeria, favorite of this first quarter-final of the African Cup, did not strain its talent to beat Angola (1-0) and be the first qualified in the last four of the competition, at the Félix Houphouët stadium -Boigny to Abidjan.
The three-time African champions, already impressive against Cameroon in the previous match (2-0), made the difference at the end of the first period through Ademola Lookman, well served by Moses Simon (41st).
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José Peseiro’s men, sure of their strength, had complete control of the ball during the first act during which the Palancas Negras remained faithful to their game plan: remaining compact, defending low and placing counterattacks. -attacks.
To read: CAN 2024: Victor Osimhen, in search of the grail
For a long time, this plan seemed to prove its worth against the technically superior Super Eagles, but who were sorely lacking in efficiency in the last move. With this small arm strategy, however, the Palancas Negras obtained the first big opportunity of the match, a post found by the scorer Mabululu in the 5th minute of play.
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All it takes is one goal
Surrounded by the two wisps Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria star Victor Osimhen weighed heavily on the Angolan defense, but unfortunately lacked luck, particularly on two big chances in the first period (24th, 35th).
However, he was not left out on the opening score, since on a high recovery, the Naples striker served as a decoy by mobilizing two opponents, which allowed Moses Simon to drop the full-back Gaspar before send a cross back to Lookman who deceived goalkeeper Antonio Signori (41st).
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He scored his third goal in this tournament after his double in the round of 16 against Cameroon.
Read: CAN: William Troost-Ekong, committed captain of the Super Eagles
In a burst of pride, the Angolans came out of their lethargy because in the process Estrela attempted to break through the Nigerian defense, but was blocked at the last minute by captain Troost-Ekong (44th).
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Back on the field, the Super Eagles almost made the break twice, first by Zeidu, but his shot hit the crossbar, while Iwobi’s long-range shot grazed the post while Signori was well beaten (47th, 48th).
After this alert, the Angolans tried to react with Zini, launched behind the defense, who sent a tense shot onto the post (60th).
A quarter of an hour from the end, Osimhen thought he scored to condemn Angola, but his goal was invalidated by VAR. It will only be anecdotal since this result will be enough to send them to the semi-final of the competition, where they will face the winner of the match between Cape Verde and South Africa on Wednesday.
(With AFP)
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