Nigeria vs. Angola; Key players to watch in this AFCON quarter final clash

Nigeria and Angola will go face to face with each other as a place in the AFCON quarter-final is at stake.

Both sides stormed into the next stage of the competition with Round of 16 wins against Cameroon (2-0) and Namibia (3-0) respectively.

And it will be interesting to see how it happens in this clash against both sides. With both managers strategizing ahead of the game we know that certain players would be key in securing the win against each other.

Ahead of the match, All news.ng evaluates the key players who can make a difference in the match.

Victor Osimhen

The Napoli man Victor Osimhen may have scored only one goal against Equatorial Guinea in the competition.

But the class he brings on the pitch is second to none.

He was instrumental to Nigeria’s victory over Cameroon where he shelved off the challenge from defender Gonzalez to set up his teammate Ademola Lookman.

Ahead of the Nigeria/Angola duel, he would carry one of Nigeria's major hopes as he’s got the killer instinct needed to win a game of such intensity.

Gelson Dala

The Angola Number 10 Gelson Dala is another star to look forward to in this AFCON quarter-final as he already got four goals ahead in this tournament.

And with his wonderful form and showing he hag against Namibia expect him to be in fine form in this game.

Nigeria must be aware of the threat he poses as he scored twice in the Round of 16 clash against neighbour Namibia.

William Troost-Ekong

The Nigerian star defender Troost-Ekong would be expected to be at the heart of Nigeria's defence as they got face-to-face against Angola.

He superbly tucked away Nigeria's only goal against host Nation Ivory Coast from the penalty spot.

He’s expected to inspire from the backline as he’s got some physical presence and calmness to coordinate Nigeria's defence in the course of this match with the Angolan counterpart.

Alfredo Kulembe Ribeiro

The towering attacker Alfredo was instrumental to the first two goals Angola scored against Namibia in the round of 16.

The selflessness and the calmness he executed in setting up Gelson Dala's simple tap-in for the first goal greater was remarkable.

His pinpoint delivery for the second goal was top-notch as it defines the kind of quality he would bring into this match for the Angola side.