Angola finished top of Group D at the Africa Cup of Nations after clinching a 2-0 victory over Burkina Faso at the Stade de Yamoussoukro in Yamoussoukro.
There were nine minutes left in the half, and Mabululu headed in Fredy’s free kick to put the Palancas Negras ahead.
Neblu had to make a save from Burkina Faso winger Dango Ouattara, but Zine secured the win with a close-range finish in stoppage time.
Both teams were sure they would make progress before the game because of how other games in the last round turned out.
After Algeria was eliminated by Mauritania’s 1-0 win over the 2019 champions, Burkina Faso finished in second place in their group.
On Saturday, Angola will play the third-placed team from Group E or F in the round of 16. Next Tuesday, Burkina Faso will play the winner from Group E.
At 117th in the world, Angola was the lowest-ranked team in Group D going into the finals. However, they tied Algeria in their first game and then beat Mauritania 3-2 on Saturday to set the stage for qualification.
This is the first time since 2010 that southern Africa has made it to the knockout stages. That year, they hosted the tournament and lost in the quarterfinals.
At times, the game in Yamoussoukro didn’t seem very important. Angola broke the tie with their first real chance.
Ismahila Ouedraogo missed Fredy’s cross from the right side. Mabululu headed the ball down from eight yards out, and it went over Stallions custodian Herve Koffi and into the net.
After the break, the Angola defence closed in on Ouattara and he shot wide from inside the box. Just before the hour mark, Neblu came off his line to narrow the angle and block another shot from the Bournemouth winger with his legs.
With six minutes left, Neblu and Abdoul Tapsoba got into a nasty fight that left the Angola custodian looking dazed. Soon after, he ran to the edge of the area, dove forward and kicked the ball out for a throw-in.
Referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo was kind enough to only give him a yellow card for that handball just outside the area, even though Burkina Faso coach Hubert Velud led protests from the bench.
In the last minute, Djibril Ouattara missed a chance for the West Africans to tie the game when he flicked Dango Ouattara’s corner kick into the side net at the near post.
But substitute Zine made sure that Angola went through the group stage unbeaten for the first time in 14 years when Koffi couldn’t block Jeremie Bela’s shot from outside the box.
For the first time in 17 Afcon finals games, the Stallions failed to score. Both teams will find out who they will play in the round of 16 on Wednesday, when Groups E and F finish.
Photo by Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
