They are the best and worst African teams in the FIFA ranking still alive in the tournament, but in this edition more than ever, anything is possible.
The AFCON quarter-finals kick off this Friday. Only eight teams remain alive in the tournament, and their next objective is to reach the semifinals. The first two teams battling for a ticket to the penultimate match will be Nigeria and Angola.
A clash, Nigeria vs. Angola, that has never happened before in the AFCON. This will be the first time that both teams face each other in the tournament.
A showdown that pits the best-ranked FIFA CAF team still alive in the tournament (Nigeria) against the lowest-ranked (Angola), but that’s just a statistic. Indeed, if anything has been proven in this edition of the African tournament, it’s that being a favorite doesn’t necessarily bring good luck.
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Just ask Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, or Morocco, whose elimination at the hands of South Africa continues to surprise everyone.
It is true that the last time Angola defeated Nigeria was in June 2004, almost 20 years ago. It was in a qualifier for the 2006 Germany World Cup.
Two of the best defenses in the tournament are facing off. Nigeria has kept a clean sheet in three out of the four championship matches, while Angola has done so in their last two games.
Angola is making history in this AFCON, especially considering that if they defeat Nigeria, it would be their fourth victory in this edition, equaling the number of wins they achieved in all their previous eight participations combined.