Ademola Lookman, an attacker for Nigeria, declared emphatically in the quarterfinal that Angola cannot stop them, and he is already focused on the Afcon semifinals.
The Super Eagles, the highest-ranked side still in the competition, have overcome a lackluster start to their Africa Cup of Nations campaign to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the final eight phases, they will now play Angola, the “dark horses,” with the goal of winning everything.
Nigeria is the clear favorite going into the game, but Palancas Negras, who are keen to shock the system, will not be taking this lightly.
The senior men’s teams haven’t played each other since the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, where Angola prevailed 1-0 in the opening encounter and ended up with a 1-1 tie in the second.
Nigeria’s Lookman, who was outstanding in the Round of 16, netting a brace in the victory over Cameroon, is optimistic that their opponent won’t prevent them from going to the semi-finals ahead of their first-ever Afcon finals matchup between the two nations.
The Atalanta winger told the media, “We have worked so hard to get to this stage of the competition and we will continue pushing hard to achieve our objective.”
“We want to bring the trophy home with us.” Although we are aware that we are not there yet, it is still attainable.
Even before this competition officially begins, we are aware of the might of the Angolan team. They have a strong roster with many talented players, and they have performed well here.
“Just as in the last game, we’ll play with the same fervor and battle. They can’t stop us, in my opinion.”
Although Nigeria has already beaten Cameroon and Ivory Coast, major upsets in this tournament suggest that anything can happen on any given day.
In Ivory Coast, Lookman and standout attacker Victor Osimhen will be under pressure to perform well for the Super Eagles.