A first-half strike from Ademola Lookman guided the Super Eagles of Nigeria to a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Palanca Negras of Angola.
The Atalanta forward converted a cut-back from Moses Simon just before half-time to guide Nigeria into the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations. Lookman is Nigeria’s only goalscorer in the knockout stages of the AFCON 2023, having scored twice in the 2-0 win over Cameroon in the round of 16.
The win marks the 16th time the Super Eagles of Nigeria have reached the semifinals of the continental showpiece in 19 appearances. Nigeria will take on either South Africa or Cape Verde in the semifinals.
While the Man of the Match award went to winger, Moses Simon, a case can be made for goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, who was immense in keeping the Angolans at bay.
Nwabili has kept a record four clean sheets and conceded just once in five games at this year’s tournament. The Chippa United safe Hands is the first Nigerian goalkeeper to keep 4 successive clean sheets in a major tournament since Best Ogedegbe in 1980.
His historic record of 4 consecutive clean sheets surpasses that of Alloy Agu in 1990, which stood at 3 games. The confidence and certainity Nwabali effortlessly oozes in dealing with crosses, initiating plays and commanding his goalpost is definitely a huge plus to the Super Eagles, who finally have a trusted and reliable hand in goal
Meanwhile, two-time African champions, D.R Congo staged a remarkable comeback to beat Guinea 3-1 in sealing a semifinal AFCON appearance for the first time since 2015 when they finished third.
The Central African nation had drawn all four previous matches at this year’s showpiece and conceded from the spot as Mohamed Bayo put Guinea ahead. Chancel Mbema fired in from an acute angle to level matters seven minutes after the Guinean lead, before two second-half goals saw them notch up their first win of the tournament. Sebastien Desabre’s men will take on either Mali or Ivory Coast for a place in the final.
