Ademola Lookman is looking very much the joker in the pack for Nigeria as he added another goal against Angola in a pulsating quarterfinal in Abidjan to his two-goal heroics in the last 16 against Cameroon.
The Atalanta wide man scored what proved to be the winner with a perfect finish from his left foot four minutes before the end the first half after glorious wing play from Moses Simon, who skipped past an Angolan defender and pulled the ball back for Lookman to smash home.
After a hairy start in which Stanley Nwabali in goal for Nigeria turned round an Angolan close-range header from a set piece before the fifth minute, Nigeria started growing in confidence and had the better chances. African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen saw his header fly straight at Antonio Signori in goal for Angola in the 23rd minute with the cross laid on by Simon, who was having one of his best games in the green of Nigeria.
Nigeria continued to live by the seat of their pants, even if Angola rarely came close to troubling Nwabali, as the West Africans kept giving away too many set pieces in dangerous areas. However, the defence marshalled by skipper William Troost-Ekong seemed to have the measure of the Angolan attack, with the exception of a bout of shakiness from Semi Ajayi, who grew as the game went on. The meanness of the Nigerian defence has got them this far, conceding only one goal in four games. Ola Aina on right wingback duty has been a revelation in this tournament, but needs to cut out the occasional casualness in his play. On the other flank, Zaidu Sanusi just couldn’t keep his head in key attacking moments.
Nigeria could have made the tie a lot more comfortable in the second half. In the 58th minute Osimhen while attempting a bicycle kick got in the way of Calvin Bassey who could have scored with a simple header from a corner kick. Angola could have scored immediately when they were aided by sloppy defending in Nigeria’s midfield as an Angolan striker broke through and hit the post with only Nwabali at his mercy.
The lively Simon, with the best piece of skill of the evening, beat two Angolans only to see his effort blocked on the hour. At this point, Nigeria was playing on the break with Angola seizing the initiative in desperate search for parity. Osimhen saw his header in the net only to be denied by a marginal VAR offside decision. As the Napoli hitman tired, there was little pressing of the Angolan defenders as they began to find their forwards. But Nigeria held on and Alhassan Yusuf, who replaced Iwobi in the 79th minute brought much-needed energy to the Nigerian midfield as they defended deep.
The winner of tomorrow’s quarterfinal between Cape Verde and South Africa now stands in Nigeria’s way to the final. If the Nigerian defence continues to be this hard to breach, things are indeed looking up for the Super Eagles. Especially, when you account for Osimhen at some point in the tournament finding his scoring boots.
