Following the conclusion of the round of 16 matches and the elimination of tournament favourites Senegal and Morocco, Nigeria is now the favourite to win the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
With the quarterfinal games set to kick off on Friday, Nigeria will face Angola to fight for a place in the last four.
According to the latest Opta supercomputer prediction, Nigeria is now the favourite to lift the trophy with a 28.8 per cent chance.
The Super Eagles have picked up maximum points without conceding after their 1-1 draw in the opening game against Equatorial Guinea.
Mali is the second favourite on the supercomputer’s prediction list with a chance of 14.7% after beating Burkina Faso to advance to the quarterfinals.
The host country, Ivory Coast, holds the third spot with a 13.5% chance of winning, followed by DR Congo and Cape Verde as fourth and fifth favourites with winning chances of 9.4% and 8.8%, respectively.
South Africa, having defeated Morocco in the round of 16, is the sixth favourite with an 8.7% chance, according to these predictions.
In the first pool, the Nigeria versus Angola game will meet the winners of Cape Verde and South Africa. In the other pool, the winners from Mali and Ivory Coast will face the winners from the DR Congo and Guinea games.
Quarterfinal fixtures
Friday
February 2: Nigeria vs Angola (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 6 p.m)
DR Congo vs Guinea (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 9 p.m)
February 3: Mali vs Ivory Coast (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 6 p.m)
Cape Verde vs South Africa (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 9 p.m)