SUPER Eagles of Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro has acknowledged that his side and Angola have equal chances of winning tomorrow’s AFCON 2023 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final clash.
The two teams meet at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abijdan, Cote d’Ivoire tomorrow with a spot in the semi-finals at stake.
Although the Super Eagles are the highest-ranked team left in the competition and are 42nd in the FIFA ranking to Angola’s 117th, Peseiro insisted his side are not favourites.
“It’s a 50-50 chance for both of us,” he said during his pre-match press conference today.
“We start the game at 0-0 but I believe in my team and the capability of all my players.”
The former Saudi Arabia and Venezuela head coach however admitted that he and his players were determined to reach the semi-finals.
“We want the win more than them obviously for many reasons,” he noted, adding that his game plan would not be different from previous matches.
“We want to prevent Angola from scoring goals tomorrow but that doesn’t mean we won’t keep to play our way and style of football.
“We create more chances and that’s good for our team but we must be very careful against a side like Angola.”
Nigeria have a much richer AFCON pedigree than Angola, having won the title three times and reached the final on another four occasions.
This is only the third time Angola will be playing in the AFCON quarter-finals and they have never reached the semi-finals.
