Nigeria beat Angola 1-0 to secure place in 2023 AFCON semi-final
A first half goal scored by Ademola Lookman sealed victory for the Super Eagles of Nigeria as they grabbed their place in the last four.
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The Nigerians are into the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after a narrow 1-0 win over a spirited Angola side.
Ademola Lookman scored the only goal as Nigeria edged out Angola to book their place in the semis.
The Atalanta winger struck four minutes before half-time in Abidjan, 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.
Angola hit the post after the break but were unable to fashion a goal of their own as they head home after an otherwise impressive tournament.
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 throughball 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.
Following his brace against Cameroon in the last 16, Lookman built on that momentum by scoring the only goal here.
The Atalanta winger never stopped working for his team. Contesting (17) and winning (nine) more duels more than any other player, he also registered the most touches in the opposition box (seven).
In addition to that, his 17 passes into the final third were only bettered by team-mate Alex Iwobi (20).
Nigeria will now face the winner of Saturday's quarter-final match between Cape Verde and South Africa in the semi-finals scheduled to played on Wednesday.
𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐃! ✅
— CAF (@CAF_Online) February 2, 2024
🇳🇬 The Super Eagles put their feet into the semi-finals! ✨#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/2RPTpHSmJC
