Nigeria Super Eagles qualified for the semi¬final of the ongoing Af¬rica Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire after a hard fought 1-0 defeat of Angola Palancras Negras on Friday in Abidjan.
They will know their semi¬final opponent today after Cape Verde and South Africa must have decided their semifinal tie today.
With the win, Nigeria now qualified for its 16th semifinals of the Africa version of World Cup. Of this 16 times, Nigeria has won the trophy thrice, run¬ners up four times and eight third place finishing.
The only goal of the match came in the 41st minute when Ademola Lookman volleyed home Moses Simon cutback from the left flank.
Angola, who had never crossed the quarterfinal, had upset the odds by reaching the last eight of this tournament for the first time since 2010.
Angola almost got the opener in the in the third minute when Gilberto flicked on Fredy’s cor¬ner into the path of Mabululu, who was denied by Stanley Nwabili.
After this early scare, the Super Eagles worked their way into the game and never allowed the Angolans the opportunity of hurting them. Striker Victor Osimhen would have put Nige¬ria on the lead, but his header off Frank Onyeka’s pullout went over the bar.
Osimhen also missed anoth¬er golden opportunity when he headed Ola Aina’s long throw into the box. However, it was Lookman who broke the dead¬lock at the end of a devastating break in the 41st minute.
Simon effortlessly skipped over Kialon¬da Gaspar’s challenge and teed up the Atalanta forward to smash the ball home with a clin¬ical first-time finish.
Osimhen looked to have final¬ly etched his name on the score¬sheet after heading home from Lookman’s free-kick, but VAR disallowed the effort following a marginal offside call.
The Super Eagles did enough to overcome a plucky Angolan side that will exit AFCON with their heads held high after fall¬ing short in their aim to secure a first-ever semi-final appearance.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s quest to win this competition for a fourth time will continue in a last-four clash against the win¬ners of Saturday’s match-up between Cape Verde and South Africa in Bouaké on February 7th.
