ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire – Nigeria and DR Cong secured their places in the semi-finals of the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire after defeating Angola and Guinea respectively.
Nigeria beats Angola
Atalanta forward Lookman, the former England Under-21 international, had scored both goals in Nigeria’s defeat of Cameroon in the last 16 and he made it three in two games as the Super Eagles claimed their third 1-0 victory of the tournament.
The goal came four minutes before half-time at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, with Moses Simon collecting a pass on the left, accelerating away from Kialonda Gaspar and driving into the area before cutting the ball back for Lookman to finish.
That was enough for Nigeria to win through to their 15th Cup of Nations semi-final, which is more appearances than any other country.
Reigning African footballer of the year Victor Osimhen found the net with a quarter of an hour remaining but his effort was disallowed for offside and the Napoli striker is therefore still without a goal since Nigeria’s opening 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile Angola had one golden chance to equalise just before the hour mark, when substitute Zini was sent through on goal but his shot came back off the post.
Nigeria have now kept four consecutive clean sheets, validating coach Jose Peseiro’s approach which has been based around making sure they do not concede goals first and foremost.
“They are a good team, but once again we didn’t concede. Once again we scored once,” Peseiro said according to AFP.
“I would have liked to score more. With better finishing we could have scored another one or two goals, but I am happy. My players deserved it.”
Nigeria advance to a last-four tie next Wednesday against Cape Verde or South Africa in the central Ivorian city of Bouake.
Angola, meanwhile, go home but this AFCON will be remembered as a success for the Black Antelopes, after they won a knockout tie at the tournament for the first time ever.
“We said among ourselves that if we got to the quarter-finals we would then try to win the tournament. Any team that comes this far has that ambition,” Angola’s Portuguese coach Pedro Goncalves said.
“We like to dream, but you also need to be realistic. The reality is that we were up against a very powerful side with players who play at the very highest level.”
DR Congo stuns Guinea
Former West Ham United defender Arthur Masuaku scored a vital goal as the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Guinea 3-1 o reach the AFCON semi-finals.
Masuaku netted direct from a free-kick on 82 minutes to give his country a two-goal advantage in the quarter-final and they will face hosts Ivory Coast or Mali for a place in the title decider.
Mohamed Bayo gave Guinea a 20th-minute lead from a penalty which was cancelled by DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba soon after in Abidjan, AFP reported.
Brentford forward Yoane Wissa put the Congolese ahead on 65 minutes from the second penalty of the match, then Masuaku effectively decided the outcome.
History suggested that the first AFCON tournament meeting between the countries in 20 years would be close as three previous matches produced a 2-1 win for each and a 2-2 draw.
The Congolese Leopards reached the last eight without winning a match. They finished runners-up to Morocco in Group F after three draws before edging seven-time champions Egypt via penalties.
Guinea qualified as the best of the four third-placed qualifiers, then Bayo scored the second latest regular-time goal so far to eliminate Equatorial Guinea.
Both coaches made one change from the last-16 starting line-ups with DR Congo promoting centre-back Henock Inonga and Guinea upgrading former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita.
Serhou Guirassy, scorer of 17 Bundesliga goals this season for Stuttgart, once again started on the bench for the Guinean National Elephants.
In a first half as closely contested as anticipated, Guinea went ahead on 20 minutes when Bayo recovered having been fouled by Mbemba to convert the resultant penalty.
The lead lasted only seven minutes, however, before captain Mbemba connected with a corner to the far post and rifled the ball past goalkeeper Ibrahima Kone from a tight angle.
Guinea coach Kaba Diawara would have been slightly happier than his opposite number, Frenchman Sebastien Desabre, at half-time as his team had more possession and goals attempts.
Having trailed to a penalty, the Congolese went ahead on 65 minutes from another spot-kick with Wissa scoring after Julian Jeanvier tripped substitute Silas Mvumpa.
With 20 minutes remaining, Diawara introduced Guirassy, having early in the second half brought on 18-year-old Facinet Conte.
A balanced quarter-final took a decisive turn when a free-kick by Masuaku near the touchline drifted into the net at the near post off the hand of surprised Kone.
