AFCON 2023: “Why we lost to Nigeria”

The Super Eagles were better than Angola on the night, but Pedro Goncalves has offered a possible why it was so

Angola coach Soares Goncalves has blamed fatigue for his team’s loss to Nigeria in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.

Nigeria qualified for the semi-finals of the 2023 AFCON following an impressive 1-0 win against Angola at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Both teams created many chances, but Nigeria just edged it after Ademola Lookman’s first-half strike.

Angola pushed hard for a goal, but Nigeria’s defence, which has only conceded once in this tournament, held on strong to see out the win.

Speaking after the win, Angola boss Pedro Goncalves blamed his side’s loss for fatigue, as they had to play in three cities, unlike Nigeria, who have been camped in Abidjan throughout the tournament.

“It is true that we played against a very strong opponent. But the Nigerian players were fresher than ours, and their physical display made them able to create more chances than us”, Pedro Goncalves said per Soccernet.ng.

Most of their players take part in very high-level competitions, and they have never gone out of Abidjan. But we have gone to three different cities in the course of this tournament, so this triggered the fatigue for my players.

When you travel like my team did, and you face a very strong opponent like Nigeria, you will struggle. Also, most of my players play in the home league, and some of them are not experienced playing in big competitions like the AFCON.

Nigeria now await the other quarter-final fixture between Cape Verde and South Africa to ascertain their foes for the semi-finals. The Super Eagles will be leaving Abidjan for the first time as the game will be played at Stade de la Paix at Bouake.