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Nigeria’s Super Eagles will hope to continue their match towards securing a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title when they take on Angola in the quarter-finals on Friday in Abidjan.
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To reach the last eight of the AFCON 2023, the Super Eagles triumphed over their old foes, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
A brace from Ademola Lookman helped Jose Peseiro’s men to a third straight win over Cameroon at AFCON meetings.
It was not the best of starts for the Eagles, who had to come from behind to force Equatorial Guinea to a 1-1 draw.
Since the disappointing draw with Equatorial Guinea, the team has improved in subsequent games, as they defeated Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Cameroon without conceding.
Now, they must take care of the next obstacle in the form of the Palancas Negras of Angola, who they will be meeting for the first time at the AFCON.
The Southern African team surprisingly topped Group B, which had 2019 champions Algeria, with seven points.
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After the 1-1 draw against Algeria, Angola defeated Mauritania 3-2, overcame Burkina Faso 2-0 before thrashing Namibia 3-0.
Another interesting thing to note is that Angola are unbeaten in their last nine consecutive games (six draws and three wins).
The last time Angola lost was a 4-0 defeat to Iran in an international friendly game on September 12, 2023.
While they last tasted defeat against an African team on July 10, 2023, when they fell 1-0 to Mauritius in the COSAFA Cup.
Meanwhile, Angola will be without its suspended first goalkeeper, Neblu, who was sent off after 17 minutes against Namibia for handling the ball outside his penalty area.
For the Eagles, they are sweating over the availability of Stanley Nwabali, with the goalkeeper withdrawn after sustaining an injury against Cameroon, although he trained on Tuesday.
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