A goal and two assists from Ademola Lookman, along with a brace from Victor Osimhen, helped Nigeria beat Mozambique 4-0 to pick a quarter-finals ticket at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Akor Adams also played a crucial role in the victory as he, like Lookman, registered a goal and two assists to set up a last eight tie against either Algeria or DR Congo in Marrakech.
There were early warning signs for Mozambique when Osimhen saw a goal disallowed by VAR for offside in just the second minute, but Nigeria eventually broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when Lookman sent Adams’ cut-back into the top-right corner.
Osimhen then got his first of the match soon after with a simple finish from Adams’ centre, while his second came early in the second half as he was on hand at the back post to turn Lookman’s pass across the goal into the net.
Lookman was the provider once again in the 75th minute, this time playing Adams into the box before the Sevilla forward sent a powerful strike past Ernan Siluane at the near post.
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Moses Simon tested the Mozambique goalkeeper late on after Raphael Onyedika failed to hit the target with an attempt of his own as Nigeria had to settle for a 4-0 win at Complexe Sportif de Fes.
Earlier, Egypt booked a ticket for the quarter-finals after a 3-1 win over Benin Republic. Both teams failed hit target in the first half despite creating a couple of chances.
The Pharaohs make the breakthrough in the 69th minute when Marwan Ateya fired home superbly following a fine team move.
Jodel Dossou restored parity for Benin seven minutes from time hitting past Ahmed El Shenawy after the goalkeeper had initially saved a deflected shot.
The game went into extra time after the two team’s failed to find winner in 90 minutes.
Mohamed Salah put the game beyond Benin by scoring the third in stoppage time. Egypt regained the lead through Yasser Ibrahim in the 97th minute.
Mohamed Salah put the game beyond Benin by scoring the third in stoppage-time.
Egypt will now face the winner of the round of 16 clash between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals scheduled for Saturday, January 10.
