Nigeria vs Angola LIVE: Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final result, final score and reaction as Super Eagles win
The favourites for the 2024 Afcon take on an impressive Angola outfit who have top-scored at the tournament so far
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has reached the quarter-final stage and the first of those took place in Abidjan on Friday evening, with Nigeria knocking out Angola after a 1-0 victory.
It’s now four clean sheets in a row for the Super Eagles, who look defensively solid and to have a platform for success, despite possessing some of the best attacking talents with the likes of Victor Osimhen in their squad. Tonight though - as in the round of 16 - it was Ademola Lookman who scored the winner, netting in the first half for what turned out to be the only goal of the game.
Osimhen did find the back of the net but saw his goal ruled out for offside, while Angola rarely threatened to find a late equaliser in truth. Nigeria will play South Africa or Cabo Verde in the semis. Follow all the reaction to Nigeria vs Angola below and get all the latest Afcon odds and tips here.
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
We are less than ten minutes away from kick-off and the start of the Afcon quarter-finals.
Nigeria or Angola will face Cabo Verde or South Africa in the semi-final.
On the other side of the draw, it’s Mali vs Ivory Coast and DR Congo vs Guinea (played tonight at 8pm GMT), with the winners of each clash also meeting in the other semi.
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
Rewind to the mid- and late-1990s and there was just one African nation widely expected to become the big challenger to European and South American countries on the international football landscape: Nigeria.
The Super Eagles reached the last 16 in both ‘94 and ‘98, the iconic team of Jay-Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George and Daniel Amokachi, later added to by Nwankwo Kanu, Taribo West and Celestine Babayaro. With a significant section of the latter squad aged 24 and under, it seemed they should only go from strength to strength, particularly after winning the Africa Cup of Nations in ‘94 as well.
It didn’t quite happen that way.
Karl Matchett on the story of Nigeria’s rise, fall...and potential to rise again in 2024:
Nigeria handed unexpected chance to end generation of missed opportunities
The Super Eagles were once Africa’s greatest hope in international football but have had a lean decade since their last Africa Cup of Nations triumph
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
With Neblu out, it’s 29-year-old backup Antonio Signori Dominique who plays in goal for Angola tonight.
It’s a decade since his international debut and the Swiss-born stopper is earning his 14th cap. He previously spent two years Basel, not necessarily always with the first team, and is these days playing with third-tier Swiss side Etoile Carouge.
He’s charged today with keeping out Victor Osimhen and co, which is slightly different to his usual job you’d imagine.
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
Top scorers at the Afcon:
5 - E Nsue, Eq.Guinea
4 - Dala Gelson, Angola; M Mohamed, Egypt
3 - B Bounedjah, Algeria; L Sinayoko, Mali; J Mabululu, Angola; B Traore, Burkina Faso.
Nigeria’s top scorer is Ademola Lookman, who has two.
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
Route to the QFs:
Nigeria came second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea on goal difference, after drawing with them in their opener before beating both Guinea-Bissau and Ivory Coast. Then it was a 2-0 victory over Cameroon in the last 16 which sent them this far.
As for Angola, they also drew their opener, 1-1 with Algeria, before seeing off Mauritania and Burkina Faso to top Group D. Namibia were vanquished 3-0 in impressive fashion last time out, putting Angola into the quarters.
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
Africa Cup of Nations predictions: Quarter-finals betting tips
We’re down to the final eight teams in the Africa Cup of Nations as the competition reaches the quarter-final stage.
Following Senegal’s defeat in the last 16 at the hands of the Ivory Coast, there will be a new champion crowned in the final on February 11.
All eight of the quarterfinalists are completely new sides from the teams that reached this stage of the tournament two years ago, highlighting the competitive nature of Afcon.
South Africa produced one of the best performances by dumping World Cup semi-finalists Morocco out of the competition. Meanwhile, Guinea and Cape Verde reached the quarter-finals for only the second time, and Angola the third in their history.
Football betting sites make Nigeria the favourites for the title from the remaining teams in the tournament at 2/1, but Afcon has been anything other than predictable so far.
Here are our predictions for the Afcon quarter-finals.
Africa Cup of Nations predictions: Quarter-finals betting tips, 243/1 acca and free bets
Our tipster has made four predictions for the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals that can be used in a 243/1 accumulator
Is Nigeria v Angola on TV tonight? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch
Nigeria are among the favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations ahead of their quarter-final clash with Angola.
Former Fulham and Leicester player Ademola Lookman was on target twice in the last-16 stage as the Super Eagles beat Cameron 2-0.
Angola did not enjoy the best start to the tournament, but they have built up momentum with three successive victories, including a 3-0 win over Namibia in the last round, which also saw two red cards, one for each side.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
Is Nigeria v Angola on TV tonight? Channel and how to watch Afcon quarter-final
Everything you need to know about the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final
Nigeria v Angola: Starting lineups and team news
Nigeria XI: Nwabah; Ekong, Ajayi, Bassey; Zaidu, Onyeka, Iwobi, Ola Aina; Lookman, Osimhen, Simon
Angola XI: Antonio; Afonso, Gaspar, Buatu, Carneiro; Fredy, Show, Estrela; Gilberto, Mabululu, Gelson Dala
Nigeria vs Angola - LIVE
Rewind to the mid- and late-1990s and there was just one African nation widely expected to become the big challenger to European and South American countries on the international football landscape: Nigeria.
The Super Eagles reached the last 16 in both ‘94 and ‘98, the iconic team of Jay-Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George and Daniel Amokachi, later added to by Nwankwo Kanu, Taribo West and Celestine Babayaro. With a significant section of the latter squad aged 24 and under, it seemed they should only go from strength to strength, particularly after winning the Africa Cup of Nations in ‘94 as well.
It didn’t quite happen that way.
Nigeria withdrew from the following Afcon after Sani Abacha’s coup d’etat, then were banned from the ‘98 edition as a consequence. It was 19 years until they won their next (and so far last) Afcon and - more notably perhaps - it is now a full quarter of a century since France ‘98, during which time they have won matches on just two further occasions at World Cup finals.
An entire generation of supporters, of citizens and indeed of playing talent have grown up since that early promise and had to watch on as Nigeria squander chances or fall short - but perhaps this time around the stars have aligned for the modern Super Eagles to reach their potential and fly to glory in Ivory Coast.
Karl Matchett on Nigeria’s unexpected chance to end generation of missed opportunities:
Nigeria handed unexpected chance to end generation of missed opportunities
The Super Eagles were once Africa’s greatest hope in international football but have had a lean decade since their last Africa Cup of Nations triumph
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments