Nigeria 1-0 Angola: Super Eagles defeat Black Antelopes to book a spot in AFCON Semi-final

Nigeria 1-0 Angola: Super Eagles defeat Black Antelopes to book a spot in AFCON Semi-final

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have edged out the Black Antelopes of Angola to book their place in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.

Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman scored the only goal four minutes before half-time in Abijdan, turning in Moses Simon’s cross to book a last-four date with either Cape Verde or South Africa.

Bidding to reach their first semi-final, Angola made a bright start and were denied in the fourth minute when Stanley Nwabali kept out Mabululu’s close-range volley.

However, it was Nigeria who hit the front in the 41st minute. Simon skipped away from Kialonda Gaspar’s sliding challenge and squared the ball for Lookman to fire into the roof of the net.

Angola almost responded just before the hour mark. Substitute Zine latched onto Show’s through ball and beat Nwabali, only to see his first-time shot bounce back off the post.

Although VAR denied Victor Osimhen, whose header from Lookman’s free-kick was chalked off for offside, the Super Eagles held out to secure their passage into the semi-finals.

The highest-ranked nation remaining in the competition, three-time winners Nigeria demonstrated their ability to handle the favorites tag with a hard-earned victory.

Dangerous going forward with Lookman, Simon and Osimhen, the Super Eagles also produced yet another solid defensive performance.

Indeed, they have now won four successive Africa Cup of Nations matches without conceding.

Champions in 1980, 1994 and 2013, Jose Peseiro’s side certainly have plenty of positives to build on as they head into the semi-finals.