Nigeria, coached by José Peseiro, beat Angola this Thursday with a goal from Lookman (41 minutes) and secured their place in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
In a match with few scoring chances for both teams, the Nigerians showed greater performance with Porto player Zaidou in the starting lineup and Chidozie (Boavista) coming off the bench. In a good counter-attack, they took advantage of an erroneous kick by Gaspar (E. Amador), lost their balance and scored the only goal of the match.
Angola, also coached by Portugal’s Pedro Goncalves, attempted to make history in Canada with an unprecedented switch to midfielders, but their intentions were met with iron. With the Angolans’ best chance to score, Zini (59′) hit the post to the despair of the fans.
The Nigerians didn’t even count the goal due to offside. The Angolans finished the game on a high, but showed predictable football and were unable to overcome the defense of Jose Peseiro’s team, which conceded only one goal in five matches played.
Nigeria will play again on Wednesday (7th) with the winner of the Cape Verde-South Africa match to be played today (8:00 pm).
DETAILSCONGO DEFEATED GUINEA CONAKRY (2-1)
Congo, with Braga’s Bansa as a substitute (71 minutes), won this Thursday against Guinea Conakry with a score of 3-1. The Congolese advance to the semi-finals, where they will meet the winner of Mali and Ivory Coast (today, 17:00).
WITHOUT FEAR SOUTH AFRICA
Coach Pedro Brito “Bubista” said this Thursday that Cape Verde is “not afraid” of South Africa and promised that the team “at the best level” will win this Saturday in the Canada “quarters”. “We have enough experience to know that it won’t go beyond one game,” the coach said.
Author: Mario Figueiredo
Source: CM Jornal
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