Ademola Lookman scored his third goal
in two games as Nigeria advanced to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of
Nations on Friday with a 1-0 victory over Angola in the last eight.
Lookman again stole the limelight
from Victor Osimhen by following his brace in the 2-0
defeat of Cameroon in the last 16 by breaking the deadlock four
minutes before half-time at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.
The Super Eagles then saw the game
out before a crowd of 18,757 in Abidjan, with Osimhen finding the net
only for his effort to be disallowed after the VAR
ruled him to be offside.
The Napoli superstar, Africa's
reigning footballer of the year, remains stuck on just one goal at
this AFCON, but Nigeria's success has been built around an impressive
defence that has now kept four consecutive clean sheets.
The three-time continental
champions advance to a last-four tie next Wednesday
against Cape Verde or South Africa in the
central Ivorian city of Bouake - those sides meet in the quarter-finals on
Saturday.
Angola, meanwhile, go home but this
Cup of Nations will be remembered as a success for
the Black Antelopes, after they won a knockout tie at the tournament for the
first time in their history. Africa's 28th-ranked side battled
bravely here but could not follow up their victory over Namibia in
the last round.
In fact, Jose Peseiro's Nigeria
side struggled to reach the same heights as against Cameroon six
days earlier, undoubtedly affected by the heat and
humidity which was even more energy-sapping than at previous points in
the competition.
Angola almost took the lead inside four minutes, as a
corner from their right was helped on to Mabululu, whose attempt at
the near-post was kept out by Stanley Nwabili, the Nigerian
goalkeeper who had passed a fitness test to play.
Osimhen tried his luck twice from headers but
it was Lookman, the Atalanta forward and former England Under-21
international, who broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.
Moses Simon collected a pass on the left,
accelerated away from Kialonda Gaspar and drove into the area
before cutting the ball back for Lookman to finish
emphatically.
Nigeria continued to create chances after
the break, but Angola did pass up a glorious
opportunity to draw level just before the hour mark. AEK Athens
striker Zini, on as a half-time substitute, was sent
through on goal and his effort beat Nwabili, only to rebound back off
the far post.
It was a major let-off for
Nigeria, who then thought they had killed the game off when Osimhen rose
to head home a Lookman free-kick with quarter of an hour left, the ball going
in despite the Angolan goalkeeper getting a touch.
However, the effort was disallowed to
the frustration of Osimhen, who carried on until the final moments
despite taking a succession of knocks and being carried to the
side of the pitch on a stretcher at one point.
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