AFCON 2023: Can Angola shock Nigeria?… Here’s all you need to know

Nigeria plays Angola in the quarterfinals of  Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023, with a spot in the final four as the prize. Both teams have gotten better, over the course of the competition.

With every game since starting their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea, the Super Eagles have improved as the tournament has gone on. Against respectable opponents in Cameroon and the host Ivory Coast, they have won three and drawn one of their Africa Cup of Nations games thus far.

Nigeria defeated longtime rivals Cameroon 2-0 in the round of 16 to advance to the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals. Ademola Lookman scored a goal in each half to give them the victory.

It seems that manager Jose Peseiro has perfected his defensive scheme. They prevented Cameroon from scoring in the round of 16, kept clean sheets in their last three games while also containing elite strikers.

Similar to Super Eagles, Angola drew their first game of the competition, since then, the Palancas Negras have won three in a row, as they aim to make history by going to the AFCON semifinals for the first time.

Angola was unstoppable in the round of 16, defeating Namibia 3-0 to guarantee their spot in the match on Friday. They capitalised on the Namibians’ first-half red card, as Gelson Dala scored twice and Mabululu also found the back of the net.

In the last three meetings between the two sides, both have one win apiece and one draw. The Super Eagles prevailed 2-1 in their last meeting which was during the 2018 AFCON.

NIGERIA VS ANGOLA TIME AND DATE

Date: 2nd February 2024.

Time: 6pm WAT

Venue: Abidjan, Felix Houphouet-Boigny

NIGERIA VS ANGOLA PREDICTION 

Nigeria have maintained clean sheets in all three of their wins so far, with two of those victories ending in 1-0 scores. Angola has performed well too, however there is a big difference in skill between the two sides.

I predict Nigeria to win 1-0.

See also: Full List: Nigeria, Ivory Coast…Teams that qualified for AFCON 2023 quarter final