Angola beat Namibia to reach Afcon last 8

Gelson Dala scored twice as Angola shrugged off the early dismissal of goalkeeper Neblu to beat 10-man Namibia and reach the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Neblu was shown a straight red in the 17th minute for handling Bethuel Muzeu's shot outside his box, but Dala put Angola in front with a tap-in seven minutes before the break.

Namibia defender Lubeni Haukongo was soon sent off for a second bookable offence and two minutes later Dala doubled Angola's lead by powerfully heading home Fredy’s free-kick.

Mabululu’s neat finish following a swift counter-attack midway through the second half wrapped up victory and sent the Palancas Negras into the last eight for the first time since 2010.

Angola will face Nigeria in the next round in Abidjan on Friday (17:00 GMT) after the Super Eagles beat Cameron 2-0.

Peter Shalulile had a chance to reduce the deficit early in the second half, as poor defending from Gaspar presented him with a good chance, but the Namibia captain struck his shot high and over the goal.

Fredy was in the thick of things once more as Angola made it 3-0, with his 40-yard pass finding Dala in space on the left.

The goalscorer turned provider, freeing Mabululu and allowing the striker to curl a composed finish past Namibia goalkeeper Lloyd Kazapua and in off the right-hand upright for his third goal at the finals.

Even then Angola showed no signs of sitting back on their lead.

Kazapua made a good stop to deny Angola a fourth goal in the 72nd minute as he saved Jonathan Buatu's header following a corner, and substitute Zito Luvumbo rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort in stoppage time.

Angola, having topped Group D, registered their first ever knockout win at an Afcon finals, with their previous two quarter-final appearances coming when the tournament had 16 teams.

Despite being knocked out Namibia can take plenty of positives from their campaign, which saw the Brave Warriors register a first ever finals win – a memorable 1-0 victory over Tunisia - and reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history. - BBCSport