AFCON 2023: Boost for Nigeria as Angola lose goalkeeper Neblú red card appeal

Pedro Valdemar Soares Gonçalves will be on the sidelines to mentor Angola as he oversees his first AFCON quarter-final with the country since he started coaching them in 2019.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have gotten a huge boost ahead of their AFCON 2023 quarter-final clash against Angola as the Portuguese-speaking nation will be without their first-choice goalkeeper, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Angolan goalkeeper, Adilson Cipriano da Cruz, popularly known as Neblú got a red card after just 16 minutes in their round of sixteen clash against Namibia when he handled the ball outside of the box.

He was given his marching orders and was expected to miss the next two games for Pedro Gonçalves's side, but after an appeal, the 30-year-old will miss just one game, their quarter-final clash against Nigeria.

The reduction was given on the premise that the dismissed goalkeeper handled the ball outside the 18-yard box and did not constitute violent conduct or jeopardize the physical integrity of an opposing player.

This news is an added advantage for Jose Peseiro's men as the opposition's first-choice goalkeeper will be one less person to worry about.

Another Angolan midfielder, 21-year-old Beni Mukendi will also be absent from today's game as he left the country's camp and returned to his club, Casa Pia in Portugal after he played no minutes of football at the AFCON 2023 tournament.

His first game with the club after his return ended with an 8-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon. He played 86 minutes in the match. 

Jose Peseiro is also sweating on the fitness of his first-choice goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, after the 27-year-old picked up an injury in Nigeria's clash against Cameroon.